Which camp should I belong to?
by Steampunk Wilson
Summary: The Woodscouts have invaded and captured half of Camp Campbell's campers. David's on holiday and Gwen can't get involved because of legal issues. As usual, it's all down to Max. My first Camp Camp story, so please be nice :) May be some shipping, language warning, because, you know, it's Camp Camp. Too many scenes may revolve around my personal favourites, Dolph and Space Kid. :)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, smaller fandom than I'm used to. I've been writing here for a while, for my favourite TV show, Ninjago. But I recently got into Camp Camp, and got many fanfic ideas while binge watching it all :) Check out my profile for more information.**

 **For clarification, here's how old I think all the campers are: Max: 10 (duh), Neil: 12, Nikki: 9, Space Kid: 8, Dolph: 7, Harrison: 12, Nerris: 11, Preston: 13, Ered: 15, Nerf: 15**

 **You may or may not agree.**

 **I'm warning you now, I use my own ships, which I've never heard of anyone else shipping before. I don't really agree with Max X Nikki :)**

 **I have done my best to represent Dolph's dialect in his speech.**

 **Bye for now - Steampunk Wilson**

"Max. Max!"

"Go away David." The kid muttered, burying his face in his pillow. "I'm not even talking to you until I've had my coffee."

"It's not David, it's Nikki."

"Nikki, I need coffee!" Nikki rolled her eyes, and pounced onto her friend, digging him hard in the ribs. He sat bolt upright.

"Nikki, what the fuck-"

""Max, the Woodscouts are here!" Nikki whispered anxiously.

"You're kidding!" Max groaned. "Wouldn't they be blowing stuff up and trying to drag us out of our beds if they were here?"

"Yeah, they really seem to be taking a stealth approach this time..." Nikki muttered. "But Max, they ARE here. I was going out of my tent for a midnight howl at the full moon-"

"You WHAT-"

"And I saw Pikeman and the others, on the shore of the lake, and they all started coming, and I had to run here to get you!" Max looked at Nikki. She seemed really worried, so he assumed she was genuine.

"Right. Let's get Neil and get to wor- wait, where's Neil?"

Neil's bed was empty. Max gasped in surprise and groaned in annoyance.

"What, where is he?" Nikki asked.

"He sleepwalks sometimes, to Science Camp." Max groaned, rolling himself out of bed.

"Well, we have to find him, before the-" But her words were cut off with a scream from outside.

"Arrgghh! Martians!"

"Get your hands off me, you foreign devils!"

"Shit." Max muttered. "Come on!"

He and Nikki scrambled out of the tent and onto the rough circle of dust where the tents were pitched. The tent closest to the lake had someone emerging from it, Petrol, with the struggling forms of Dolph and Space Kid over his shoulders. He set off towards a large boat moored at the little Camp Campbell pier.

"Hey, put them down, you bastard!" Max shouted, and he grabbed a large rock from the ground and hurled it at Petrol's head. He stumbled, dropping the campers to the ground.

"Run you idiots!" Nikki yelled as she and Max took off at a run towards the activities field. Dolph helped his tentmate up (as his helmet was weighing him down) and they started running too.

"After them Petrol!" They heard Pikeman yell. As Max and Nikki passed the tents, someone poked their bleary head out.

"What's going on?" Harrison asked sleepily.

"Woodscouts! Run!" Max yelled as they passed. Harrison gasped and saw the Woodscouts advancing, and ducked back into his tent, grabbing his hat. he reached inside and conjured a megaphone.

"WAKE UP! WOODSCOUT ATTACK!" He shouted, then dropped the megaphone and ran for his life.

"Advancing enemy?" Nerris muttered, sticking her head out of her tent. She came face to face with Snake, who leered at her, sharpened candy cane in his hand. "Argh! Attack!"

Harrison was almost at the Mess Hall when he heard Nerris screaming. He looked round quickly and saw multiple Woodscouts dragging her towards the boat. "Nerris!" He gasped, but then saw some Woodscouts turning towards him.

And Nerris's frightened face.

"Goddamn it." He groaned, but the Woodscouts began to run towards him. He gasped in fear and ran.

...

"We need to get the councillors cabin!" Nikki said as they ran on their way.

"We need to get to Neil!" Max argued. The pair skidded to a halt outside the Mess Hall.

"Nikki, there's no time, Gwen's gonna be asleep or watching TV and David's on vacation! This is down to us!"

"Oh yeah. How did she persuade him to go again?" Nikki wondered.

"I think she knocked him out and stuffed him into a suitcase or something, but Nikki, we have to get to Neil!"

Nikki sighed, but she knew Max was right. The pair ran on their way.

...

Dolph and Space Kid were the smallest campers, so they had slipped through the forest with no trouble. They stood in front of all the activities stations.

"We have to hide somevhere." Dolph muttered. "But vhere?"

"Ooh, I know!" Space Kid exclaimed. "We'll get in my rocket and blast off to-"

"What are you guys doing out here?" Both kids jumped and turned to see Ered sat atop of her skating ramp.

"Ze Voodscouts!" Dolph told her. "They're attacking, and we need to- vhat are you doing here?"

"Midnight skating with no councillors telling me not to try the most dangerous stunts." Ered said casually. "Did you say Woodscouts?"

"Yeah, they came into the tent and tried to grab us, but Max set us free." Space Kid said. "And then- Oh No!" A few Woodscouts had appeared through the trees.

"Hmm." Ered muttered. "Get behind me, little dudes."

Dolph and Space Kid were only too pleased to comply.

"No girls." A Woodscout reminded his fellowmen, smiling evilly.

"No, 'cos you're too afraid to deal with us." Ered said with a smile, and she ran forwards. Being raised with two secret F. B. I. agents hadn't taught her nothing. She quickly kicked two in the face and advanced on the third.

"Err, hold on there..." He said, stepping backwards. "No need to-" Ered's fist connected with his face faster than he could finish his sentence.

"Wow. So awesome!" Space Kid exclaimed as he and Dolph crouched behind Dolph's painting easel.

"Yeah." Dolph muttered in agreement.

"She would make a great asset to the troop. But unfortunately, girls aren't allowed in the Woodscouts, but you two will do nicely." The kids jumped and turned to see the ugly face of Pikeman standing right behind them.

"But you campers provide quite the problem with coming quietly." Pikeman continued as Dolph and Space Kid stepped backwards as far as they could until their backs were against the canvass Dolph had been planning to use to create a masterpiece the next day. It was nearly Ered's birthday, and he had been planning to paint her on her skateboard, flying through the air. It didn't look like he'd get the chance now.

"So we have gotten access to some rather useful tranquillisers." Pikeman pulled the syringe out of his pocket. The kids gasped in fear. "So, enjoy your nap." Pikeman lunged towards Dolph and managed to jab him in the arm.

"Err, Dolph?" Space Kid asked as Dolph stumbled to the side a little.

"Vhat ze..." He trailed off and slumped onto the ground. Pikeman laughed and turned to Space Kid.

"I wonder who's next..."

...

Preston heard footsteps approaching and buried himself under his bed. He had heard Harrison's shout, and, rather than running, had decided to hide, rather than run.

"Is there anyone in there?" He heard someone talking outside and grabbed the manuscript from his latest play, hugging it to his chest for comfort.

"I don't know, I didn't see anyone run out, but not all these tents are occupied. You were at the Camporee, how many of them are there?"

"Ten, and most appear to be sharing tents in pairs."

"Two per tent! Lucky bastards, it's way too cramped with four per tent back at the camp."

"Hey, you two!" A new voice chimed in, one that Preston recognised. Pikeman.

"Oh, troop leader! Hey- oh you got some!"

"Yes, now what are you doing?" Pikeman snapped, and Preston longed to put on his earmuffs, but they were in the chest at the end of his bed, and he was too scared to come out and to root around for them.

"We were just about to check that tent, erm, sir!"

"Get to it then! We need as many new recruits as possible!"

"Sir, yes sir!" Preston gasped and held his breath as his tent flap drew open.

"Help me, spirits of the theatre!" He muttered quietly. He heard two pairs of feet tip-toeing through his tent.

"Hmm, bed's empty." He heard someone say. "Check the chest!"

He heard his chest creak open and laughter.

"What sort of queer shit is this? This tent must belong to a right little girl!"

"Do you reckon it's the turquoise haired one's chest of shame?"

"Honestly." Preston muttered. "Do they have no appreciation for the theatre?"

"What was that?" A Woodscout suddenly exclaimed.

"What was what?" The other one asked.

"I heard something. Under the bed, quick!"

Preston gasped, and tried to roll out and run, but he tripped and fell flat on his face. The Woodscouts turned and grinned.

"Oh dear!" The aspiring actor sighed."

...

Max and Nikki were almost at the activities field. They had narrowly avoided an a encounter with Pikeman as he made his way back to the docks, Dolph and Space Kid (unconscious this time) over his shoulders. Max had had to physically hold Nikki back from attacking him and mauling him like a dog.

"There it is!" Max exclaimed as they reached Science Camp. A girly scream cut the air. "That's Preston." He sighed.

"And there's Neil!" Nikki pointed to a shape on the ground. Neil was laid on the grass, oblivious to the world.

"He's a deep sleeper." Max groaned. "I'm going to get him. Stay here!"

"But Max, wait-" Max ignored her and crept out of the undergrowth towards his sleeping friend.

"Max, it's Petrol!" Nikki hissed. Max looked up to see the burly WoodScout opposite him, an equal distance from Neil. He scowled.

"It's at times like this that I really hate life." Even though Max knew he was about half Petrol's height and didn't stand a chance, he set off immediately at a run towards Neil. Ten paces. He just had to run ten paces for Neil.

Petrol started to run too. Max ran faster and faster, he was almost there, why couldn't Neil just BLOODY wake up!

Of course, Petrol got there first, just before Max, and he shoves the ten year old backwards in his face, grabbing Neil and yanking him away from Max's reach.

"NO!" Max screamed as Petrol hauled Neil onto his back. At last, Neil woke up.

"Huh, what the... Max?"

"Neil!" Max cried, and Neil suddenly became aware of the situation.

"What the fuck is going on?" He exclaimed.

Petrol gave Max a sneer and turned to run back to the others.

"No!" Nikki shouted, and launched herself forwards, growling. She leapt through the air and dug her teeth into Petrol's leg. He yelled out in surprise as Neil shuted and struggled.

"Petrol, what the hell are you doing?" Came a shout and the lean figure of Pikeman appeared. "We're ready to leave."

Petrol gestured with his head to Max, and shook Nikki off, leaving her to smack onto the ground. She gave a moan of pain. Pikeman grinned.

"Ah, Maxwell. How lovely it is to see you again."

"FUCK OFF!" Max yelled, as Petrol turned to run away. he felt hot tears pricking his eyes. Neil was being taken away, and he was sat here on the ground like an idiot.

"Oh, did we upset you? I'm surprised you didn't rely on your precious councillor Gwendolyn, though we did barricade her cabin before we started recruitment." Pikeman smiled. "Of course, you can just start out a whole new life with us Woodscouts, by volunteering yourself to the troop."

"Never!" Max spat, blinking his tears away. He would not give Pikeman the satisfaction; no one got to see him cry.

"Oh, that's a shame. But we do have enough of your friends to buck up our numbers for a while, but don't worry. We'll be back, and they'll be with us!"

"NO!" Max cried, but Pikeman gave him one last smile and turned to leave. "NEIL!"

But Neil was gone.

 **Hey, so, what do you think. I'm sorry it's so long, but I needed to get all the details in. I'll be back with the next chapter when I can, because I'm going on holiday for a few days and can't type, but I can PM, so you can message me. I'm very new to this fandom, so I look forward to meeting other fans :)**

 **Happy Easter!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Pull HARDER Nerf." The teenage boy grunted as he pulled on the planks of wood that had been nailed over the door of the councillor's cabin. Harrison, Nikki and Ered watched anxiously, Nikki shouting the orders. One would assume that Max would be the one to take charge, as usual, but the ten year old was sat a few feet away, staring at the ground. He hadn't spoken a word since Neil had been taken.

"Got it!" Nerf cried, as the planks came away in his hands. There were a few cheers, but no one was feeling very jolly. Nikki darted forwards and pushed open the door. It was dark inside.

"Hello? Gwen?" She called.

"Oh thank God, it's just you Nikki." Came a familiar voice, and Gwen stepped into view, holding a large log before her as a supposed weapon. "What's going on, I heard screaming and the door wouldn't open."

"It was the Woodscouts." Harrison said as they all came into the cabin and Gwen turned on the lights. "They came and tried to capture us for recruitment."

"But you're all OK, right?" Gwen asked anxiously as Nikki dragged Max to his feet and pulled him inside. He promptly sat on the floor again. "They didn't-" She gasped as she saw their faces, and only five campers.

"They took Preston." Nerf muttered.

"And Nerris." Harrison added.

"And Dolph and Space Kid." Ered said, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"And Neil." Nikki sighed. Gwen gasped and swore.

"Goddamn it! Fucking Pikeman!" She scowled.

"Don't you kids worry about it." She said comfortingly. "Go back to your tents and try get some sleep. In the morning, I'll drive over there and get them all back."

"Hear that Max?" Nikki asked her fried. "Neil's going to be fine."

Max shrugged, and stood up.

"And what if you don't." He muttered, looking Gwen straight in the eye. "What if they won't give them up that easy? What then?"

"Hey, I have a major in phycology. It won't be too hard." Gwen told him. "And Liberal Arts. This is an illegal kidnapping, and unless Pikeman wants to end up in jail until his acne disappears, he'll give them up." Max gave a shrug, and turned towards the door.

"Go on, back to bed." Gwen said. "In the morning, get the Quartermaster to make you breakfast or something, I'll be back round about midday, with all the campers in tow."

...

Max wandered into his tent and collapsed onto his bed. He lay on his back, staring at the canvass ceiling. Neil would still be on the boat, almost at the Woodscout's compound. He would be imprisoned like Max himself had once been, behind a stone wall and barbed wire fence.

He would be forced into Woodscout uniform.

Max rolled over onto his face and let a small sob escape, before pulling the covers over his head. Mr Honeynuts rolled towards him and Max grabbed the small, grubby bear and hugged it close to his chest. He tried to tell himself it would be fine, that this time tomorrow, he and Neil would laugh this whole thing off. But the attempt was as unsuccessful as the attempt to tell himself that he really didn't need a teddy bear.

"Goddamn it!" Max muttered as he curled into a ball, his face wet.

...

"Wake up, nerd-boy." The voice was familiar and Neil groaned slightly. He lifted his head to see the ugly face of Edward Pikeman looming in front of him.

"Argh!" Neil gave a start and tried to scramble backwards, but he soon figured out that he was tied to a chair. He couldn't even remember how he had been made unconscious in the first place.

"Where the fuck am I?" He spat, but then he realised. "Oh great, this is where you Woodscouts hang out, isn't it?" A grubby compound surrounded by many cloth tents. Neil looked to his left and his gaze met Preston's, tied up next to him. "They got you too?"

"Not just me." Preston sighed, and Neil looked to his right, and saw Nerris, Dolph and Space Kid, all of whom were just coming awake."

"What sort of evil force has captured the grand sorceress?" Nerris muttered, and scowled.

"Oh no, WHERE'S MY HELMET!" Space Kid gasped. "I CAN'T BREATHE IN THIS ATMOSPHERE!"

"Shut up Space Kid." Neil groaned. "We have bigger problems." Though Space Kid did look strange without his helmet.

"Yes, shut up." Pikeman smirked. "Welcome, newest members of the Woodscouts, to-"

"Wait, hold up, members!" Neil exclaimed. "You grabbed us out of our beds!"

"Minor complications." Pikeman said with his evil smile. "But I can assure you the Woodscouts don't care where you came from."

"But I thought they cared if you were a boy or a girl." Neil said triumphantly. "Nerris is a girl."

"You, you are?" Pikeman looked at Nerris in surprise.

"Well, technically I am human female, but I chose to identify as Elfkin!" Nerris announced with a glare at Neil, who shrugged.

"Well, we can take an Elfkin." Pikeman muttered.

"Argh, this must be rock bottom! Stolen in the dead of night to do your evil bidding!" Preston exclaimed in despair, before his face suddenly lit up again. "Oh, I can see it now, it's just like Rapunzel, with the gorgeous love interest coming to save me any minute!"

The other campers laughed. "What love interest?" Nerris giggled. "I can't see any woman falling for you, Preston."

"Humph." Preston frowned. "I'll have you know I kissed Ered!"

"Yeah, and did she say that it meant nothing?" Neil asked, smiling.

"Yeah." Preston sighed.

"Face it Preston, you're gay."

"I am NOT GAY!"

"You are wearing pink silk pyjamas." Nerris informed him, grinning.

"If anyone in Camp Campbell is gay, it's Nerf-"

"OK, shut up!" Pikeman snapped. "I don't care who's gay and who isn't, but the key thing is, you no longer belong to Camp Campbell, you are now all Woodscouts!"

"Ridiculous!" Dolph exclaimed from the end of the row. "Ve all signed up for a camp of Camp Campbell and zat is vhere ve shall stay for ze summer!"

"Oh yeah?" Pikeman sneered. "Then where's your yellow T-shirt? I've never seen you in yellow."

Dolph scowled. "Zey did not come in my size." He muttered. He looked down at his blue and white stripy pyjamas in distaste.

"OK, listen up." Pikeman announced, stepping backwards from Dolph. "Names, all of you, starting with you." He gestured to Dolph.

Dolph suddenly remembered a bedtime story from when he had been younger, his father telling him about prisoner of war camps. He remembered the man's words clearly: "Listen here, if you ever find yourself in a prisoner of war camp, I want you to look them straight in the eye, spit on their shoes and say, I am Dolph Houston, soldier of the American Army, and you'll never force me into submission!" If anywhere resembled a prisoner of war camp, it was here. Of course, Dolph wasn't a soldier, and Pikeman was too far away to be spat at, but he could still follow his father's instructions.

"I am Dolph Houston, artist of Camp Campbell, and you vill never force me into submission!" He announced triumphantly, glaring at Pikeman.

"Woodscout in the making." Pikeman muttered to himself. "Next!"

"The second Neil Armstrong, and someday, I'll go to the moon and place my own flag!"

'It's going to be a long day.' Pikeman thought.


	3. Legal Loophole

**I apologise for the wait between chapters 1 and 2, I usually update every other day, but I wrote chapter 2 before I went on holiday and for some reason, didn't post it. I got back a short time ago, and now I'm writing. Anyhow, hope you all like reading :)**

Max crawled out of bed, late as usual and rooted around the tent for his hoodie, his eyes still gummed together with sleep. Eventually, he pulled the item on over his head and blinked his eyes open. The tent was a mess in the daylight, Neil's clothes from the day before strewn all over his side of the tent, Max's shoes upside down on the floor and someone had knocked over the coffee machine. Presumably Neil while sleepwalking.

Max yawned and quickly tucked Mr Honeynuts out of sight under his blanket. He was determined to put on a brave face in front of the other campers.

"Morning Max." Nikki said as Max entered the Mess Hall. There was the usual line of kids in there, only shorter this time. No one was serving or making breakfast. Max gave Nikki a nod of hello, then looked at the serving hatch.

"Err, where's breakfast?" He asked aloud. "Where's the Quartermaster?"

"I was up early this morning." Nerf said, fiddling with the pocket knife in his hands. "Saw him getting in the bus. He was muttering something about buying more Barbie dolls."

"And Gwen's already... left?" Everyone nodded.

"Great, so no breakfast?" Max muttered gloomily.

"We could cook ourselves." Harrison suggested.

"Do you know how to cook?" Max asked. The magician rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Err, no."

"I can make toast." Nerf suggested. "With a toaster."

"I don't see a toaster." Max told him, jumping onto the serving hatch.

"I can make pancakes!" Nikki exclaimed. "Just lemme get at them pans!"

"Nikki, I would rather be a Woodscout than clean up the mess you'd leave after making pancakes." Max told her. "Anyone else?"

He looked hopefully at Ered, the most likely of all of them to be able to cook something decent.

"Do you think I wasted my time going to cookery club?" The teenage girl asked. "It's so uncool."

Max sighed and rolled his eyes, jumping down into the kitchen and going over to the pans.

"Anyone allergic to eggs?"

"Wait, you can cook?" Nikki asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I cook my dinner all the time at home." Max told her. "My parents are... very busy. I have to take care of myself sometimes." He found a crumpled apron on the floor that was clean enough and tied it around his waist.

"Someone who isn't Nikki, get me eggs and bread from the pantry, I need them intact."

Nikki scowled as Harrison left towards the pantry; he was secretly glad for an excuse to leave. All of last night he had been unable to sleep, unable to forget Nerris's face as he'd run away and left her behind. He should have done something, his aim with the fire shooting trick was improving. He could have helped, but no, he ran off and hid backstage in the ampetheater of Preston's stage. Preston wasn't going to be using it now. Harrison pulled on the pantry door and it fell open.

"Eggs, eggs, eggs..." He muttered, scanning the darkened room for eggs. This made him think back to that particular Saturday, when he and Nerris had had to look after Omle, and failed miserably, all because of their continuous magical argument. Even though Nerris was annoying and occasionally mean, Harrison found that he missed her already.

"Come on Harrison." He muttered. "Nerris will be back at dinnertime, then you can go carve your name into her stupid castle or something. That'll make her mad." The idea of this cheered him up a little, but only a little.

Nerris would be useful finding these eggs, because Harrison was doing a lousy job of it.

"Come on, eggs, not chicken, not beans, not... erm, whatever that is." He backed away from the oozing item on the shelf, and fumbled in his pocket for his magician's cloth. Holding his nose, he placed it over the USO (unidentified smelling object). "And now your disgustingness, be gone! Ta-da!" The item disappeared, but the smell remained.

"Aha! Eggs!" Harrison suddenly spotted a few boxes on a shelf and hurried over, gently picking them up. He wasn't going to break these eggs using his illusion magic, like Omle, or Eggolas. He gasped as he saw what was behind the eggs. Three dice, one gold, one silver, one wooden. He remembered Nerris had been looking for these for the past week, and they had been here the entire time!

Harrison tucked them into his pocket. Nerris could have a good surprise when she came back.

...

"And this is the Woodscout hall of fame." Pikeman announced as he led the five campers into a small room covered in dingy framed photographs, certificates and medals. There weren't many of them.

Neil was bored. The five of them had long since given up arguing, and were waiting until someone came for them, or they could stage their own escape. Personally, Neil would much rather be back at Science Camp, Max and Nikki by his side as the three of them plotted some sort of explosion. Neil would make the formula, Nikki would provide a distraction and Max would plant the device, make some sarcastic comment, then the three of them would die of laughter as David's underwear got set on fire. Those were the days. Hopefully, Neil would see many more of them.

"There I am, best Woodscout of my generation." Pikeman told them proudly, pointing to his ugly photograph on the wall. He turned to face the bored and still in their pyjamas, campers. "And that concludes our tour. Any questions?"

"Yeah." Space Kid called. "Why is Dolph on the wall?"

Everyone looked to the black and white photograph in prime place.

"What-" Pikeman face palmed. "That's not him, that's Adolf Hitler, the best Woodscout who ever lived!" He gave the photo a salute.

"Wait, Hitler was a Woodscout?" Neil asked.

"Yes, one of the earliest and best Woodscouts, and not a seven year old artist from a run down summer camp!" Pikeman sighed as Dolph looked at the photo curiously and shrugged.

"I don't see it."

"Yeah, why did I think it was Dolph?" Space Kid wondered aloud. Everyone shrugged.

"Come on, recruits." Pikeman said commandingly. "For safety reasons, I'm putting you in the more 'secure' facility for a week or so."

"So, jail?" Nerris asked.

"No, just a stone, locking, uncomfortable bedroom." Pikeman argued.

"Jail." Neil confirmed.

"Honestly, barbaric!" Preston complained as they were led out. "Even though this is good material for a performance, we have rights!"

"Not anymore we don't." Neil sighed. "I'm a nerd in an army training ground, I'm not going to last a week!"

"Yeah, and this country's army doesn't have dwarves fighting Orcs either." Nerris sighed.

"I just hope Max or someone can help us."

...

Gwen turned the a corner in the camp mobile, her foot hard on the accelerator. She had been in the car for a few hours, and knew she would probably return to see the camp burned to the ground, Nikki training wolves and Max using her laptop to email her friends, but she didn't really care. She just wanted to kick Pikeman's ass.

The camp mobile skidded to a halt outside the gate to the Woodscout's compound. She threw open the car door and marched to the gates. Two Woodscouts were sat by the entrance.

"Hey, assholes. Open this gate this instant!" She snapped. The boys looked bewildered.

"Erm, ma'am we have orders-"

"I don't give a fuck about your orders, open this gate and tell me where I can find Edward Pikeman or you get to see my bad side." She leaned very close to his face. "And do you really want to see my bad side?"

The Woodscout scrambled back and pressed the button to open the gate. Gwen marched into the compound and followed the pointing of the other Woodscout towards the large stone building in the centre. Gwen took a deep breath, then kicked open the door. Pikeman jumped and turned around to face her. His acne covered face relaxed when he saw her.

"Oh, look boys, dear Gwendolyn has arrived. Come for your missing children, I presume."

"Oh finally he gets something right." Gwen said grumpily. "You've had your fun, Pikeman. Now hand them over."

"Oh no, Gwendolyn." Pikeman grinned. "You see, paperwork's been signed. Dolph Houston, Neil Armstrong Junior, Nerris Cattouack, Preston Goodplay and Neil Spielder now belong to the Woodscouts."

"What?" Gwen felt her anger change into confusion. "For transfers, you need, signatures from both camps and the campers-"

"Here." Pikeman held up a sheet of paperwork and Gwen snatched it and read it over. Nerris Cattouack, age 11, signed by Edward Pikeman and Cameron Campbell, and supposedly, Nerris herself.

"How the hell did you get this!" Gwen demanded.

"Well, I wrote to Mr Campbell last week, telling him that some Camp Campbell campers wished to become Woodscouts and needed his signature. He sent it to us, and it's a simple task to copy it onto everyone's papers. As for the campers, simply asking someone to write their name or you give them a particularly nasty haircut can go a long way."

"You bastard!" Gwen gasped, dropping Nerris's form in angered shock. "They're just kids!"

"And if our ranks don't start to inflate then I'll lose my position." Pikeman snapped. Then he picked up Nerris's form and smoothened it out. "Unless there's something else you want, Gwendolyn, you should be leaving."

"Gwen?" Gwen and Pikeman looked up to see a young boy had just entered the room.

"Space Kid!" Gwen exclaimed. The camper's appearance seemed entirely different, he was missing his helmet and wore the ugly coloured shirt of a Woodscout. It was very oversized and he looked a lot skinnier without his space suit.

"Hi Gwen, did you come to save us?" Space Kid asked anxiously.

"That was my intention." Gwen told him, shoving Pikeman aside and hurrying over to Space Kid.

"Armstrong, what are you doing here?" Pikeman snapped.

"I was coming to ask where my helmet is, Neil keeps complaining he doesn't like my head without it."

"You're not a bloody astronaut!" Pikeman snapped back, losing his cool a little. "Tell Neil to shut the fuck up and get ready for the assault course."

"You wouldn't!" Gwen gasped, wrapping an arm around Space Kid protectively.

"You ought to be leaving, Gwendolyn." Pikeman said triumphantly. "You don't have a leg to stand on and you know it."

"What happened to you crushing on me?" Gwen muttered. She turned to Space kid. "Listen Space Kid, don't give up hope. I'll be back, and you won't be here for much longer."

"Roger that." Space kid said happily.

"Tell the others as well." Gwen told him, and with one last dirty look at Pikeman, she turned and left.

...

It was almost lunchtime back at Camp Campbell. The campers, unwilling to act as if it were all normal, were dotted around all the different activity stations that didn't belong to them. Nerf sat on Preston's stage, fiddling with another pocket knife, Harrison was mending props up in Nerris's castle, Ered was attempting to paint herself on a skateboard, but definitely wasn't a born artist. Max and Nikki were at Science Camp, unspeaking.

"Come on Gwen." Max muttered sub-consciously. Nikki fiddled with the chemicals on the table.

The camp mobile drew up outside the mess hall. Since he was so high up, Harrison noticed first.

"GWEN'S BACK!" He shouted to his fellow campers, and hurried to the ladder inside the castle structure. Everyone heard and jumped up excitedly.

"About fucking time." Max muttered, but he couldn't stop the smile escaping. Nikki jumped off the table and the five campers hurried over to the car. Nerf was the first to notice Gwen's disappointed look, and frowned.

"Did you get them Gwen?" Nikki asked anxiously. Gwen sighed.

"Pikeman's a bastard, he's tied me up in a fucking loophole." She sighed. Everyone's face fell.

"So, that's a no?" Harrison asked. The car was empty. Gwen nodded.

"Fuck." Nerf muttered, and he was the first to turn and leave, throwing his knife across the clearing. It hit a tree and remained stuck there, sticking out like an angry, metal twig. Nikki cast a look at Max, who was staring glumly at the ground. Then, the ten year old boy reached behind him and drew the hood of his hoodie up over his head. He marched away, past Nikki, who looked after him in surprise.

"Max, wait!" But Max didn't stop, until he reached Harrison's stage and jumped onto it.

"Campers!" He shouted, getting everyone's attention. "Gwen's right, Pikeman is a bastard. He probably has our friends legally now. But what he doesn't have," Max paused to look at the faces of the kids in front of him. "A little bastard who would never give anyone the satisfaction." He grinned a wicked grin. "Me."

"What are you saying?" Nerf asked.

"I'm saying, there are other ways other than doing things legally." Max said. "I'm saying, how about we take a leaf out of the Woodscout's book."

Nikki grinned, and smiles crept up on everyone else's faces.

"Sign me up!" She shouted.

 **Sorry about the Hitler gag earlier, I just couldn't resist. There probably won't be any more. If you like the story, remember to leave your reviews :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Gwen sighed and sat back at her desk. She had seen Max getting up onto the stage for some reason, but hadn't bothered to listen. It was likely he was planning something illegal that she really didn't want to know about. Yeah Gwen, you can't even control a ten year old, or deal with a kidnapping. Useless, no wonder you don't have a proper job.

Gwen rooted around for her anxiety pills, but her phone started buzzing, a skype call. She sighed and picked it up. David. Great. Gwen put on a big false smile, and clicked the accept button. Her co-councillor's face appeared on the screen.

"Hey David." Gwen said as brightly as she could. "How's Toronto?"

"Gwen, why did you send me here?" David asked sternly. "You know Camp Campbell is all the vacation I could ever need!"

"David, I know Max was getting to you again." Gwen sighed. "You need a break, and it's only for a week. I can handle the kids for a week."

"Are you sure Gwen?" David asked. He seemed somewhat re-considering his desperation for Camp Campbell. Gwen thought of Space Kid, dressed as a Woodscout.

"I'm sure." She said, there was no reason to make David worry, he deserved a week off. "The kids are fine, they're all, uh, playing football outside."

"Really?" David asked.

"Yeah, they're unusually quiet, I can handle them." David considered, then gave a reproachful nod.

"OK. I can check out what camping facilities Toronto has." He smiled and Gwen smiled back.

"Enjoy yourself." She ended the call and sighed in relief. David deserved a vacation, and she would figure out a way to rescue Space Kid and the others.

BOOM!

"Goddamn it Nikki! I told you NOT to touch the flamethrower!"

"Shit." Murmured Gwen, taking her anxiety pills. Then she kicked open the cabin door.

"Harrison, don't you dare feed that stuffed rabbit anymore petrol, it's not a fur bomb! Max, put out that fire, Nerf, get that flamethrower away from Nikki..."

...

Nerris flopped onto her bunk, too tired to even take off her boots to wash the mud off. The five of them had just been put through the Woodscouts tough assault course, and it had been one of the hardest activities any of them had had to complete. Nerris had fallen flat on her face at least twelve times, Neil had whacked his face on a wooden beam and was nursing a black eye, Space Kid had swallowed muddy water by accident and Dolph had been yelled at by Pikeman for ten minutes for not finishing in time, practically making him cry.

"That's not fair, he's just a kid!" Nerris had argued. They were all just kids, the Woodscouts didn't really seem to suit any children, certainly not themselves, a scientist, an artist, an aspiring astronaut, an aspiring actor and a mage. Not exactly army material.

Nerris sighed and looked around her companions. Space Kid had found a longish rock and was pretending it was his toy rocket. He lay on his back, making it swirl through the air, making the whooshing sounds. Preston was also on his bunk, muttering something about Hamilton and Oliver combinations. Neil was scratching at the cuff of his shirt, attempting to clean it. Dolph had found a coin from somewhere, and was scratching determinedly at the wall with it. Nerris missed her cloak and sorceress hat, her head felt empty.

"Dolph, what are you doing?" Nerris asked out of boredom, making the kid jump.

"I've gone almost a full day without painting or drawing." Dolph muttered. "It feels bad, and this is an alright substitute." Nerris leaned over and saw the scratches he was making resembled the night sky. Space Kid looked too.

"Space." He muttered with a smile, and Dolph gave him a small smile back. Then he carried on scratching at the wall, scowling. Nerris didn't even want to know what he was drawing now.

"We need to get out of here." Neil said, standing up. "Everyone, check around for hidden cameras and recording devices." For a few minutes, the kids searched, before Preston called out.

"I've found something!" He called, and held up a tiny black, glass circle.

"Hidden camera, prime example." Neil said with his nerdish grin. He took the camera she stamped on it. "Anything else?"

"I don't think so." Space Kid told him.

"OK, brainstorming time." Neil ordered, and the kids got into a huddle. "We need to decide on an escape plan."

"Gwen said she was coming to break us out." Space Kid told him.

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, she was trying to take us back or something, but Pikeman was saying something about legal paperwork, whatever that is."

"Vhen vas this!" Dolph demanded.

"When I went to find my helmet, but I forgot to tell you earlier. Sorry about that." Neil groaned.

"That was three hours ago, Jesus Christ you are fucking useless." He muttered. "OK, so Gwen couldn't help, that means it's down to us."

"What about the others?" Nerris asked, she was unwilling to believe that the kids would just abandon them. Though she remembered Harrison, clearly running away after seeing her capture. Why had she made him hate her so much, all about their interpretations of magic! Nerris would gladly give up playing D&D for a full month just to get out of here.

"Face it, they've got about as much power over the situation as Gwen." Neil told her.

"But Max-" Preston argued. Neil laughed.

"Max doesn't give shit about anything but himself and his freaking coffee. Haven't you noticed?"

"You don't mean that Neil!" Preston exclaimed. Neil sighed.

"Max is unpredictable, it's best not to depend on him." He said. "Now, let's depend on ourselves. We're not going to last the week in here..."

...

"They're not going to last a week in there!" Max called. "Pick up the pace." Hood still up, covering his messy hair and casting a shadow over his face, he had taken over the project. Basically, making weapons. No one had an actual plan yet.

"How much fuel to I use?" Nikki called.

"As much as you can, we are going to hit the Woodscouts with everything we've got." It was rather peaceful; everyone was working together quietly for once, even Nikki. It seemed the incident had brought everyone closer together. Max just hoped it would last long enough to rescue Neil. Even though he wouldn't admit it, he missed Neil every second, the lack of scientific comments, nerdiness, and just generally, Neil. Max didn't have many friends back home, and his parents were far from friendly towards him. Neil and Nikki were really the only people he would consider his friends, and sharing a tent for two months now had brought the boys closer together than Max had ever been with anyone.

"Max!" He heard someone call and looked up. Gwen was striding towards him.

"What?" He asked, motioning for the others to carry on with their manufacturing.

"What is this?" Gwen demanded, looking around. "What are you up to?"

"What does it look like?" Max asked her. "Breaking Neil and the others out of the Woodscouts using bombs and flamethrowers.

To Max's surprise, Gwen smiled. "I knew you'd be up to something crazy and illegal, you little shit. Well, if anyone asks, I thought you were making papemache models or some bullshit."

Max grinned. "Thanks Gwen."

"No problem." She turned to walk off. "Don't think I don't care, Max. If you need my help, you know where to find me." Max nodded and looked down at the other campers, who were looking up at him.

"What did Gwen want?" Nikki asked.

"Nothing. She's not going to get in our way." Max told her. As they carried on with their building, he muttered to himself: "No one is."


	5. Four in the Morning

"So, let's review." Neil said, and Preston yawned. He was on the verge of falling asleep; staying up until two in the morning wasn't a smart idea when you were expected to get up at six on the dot and do two laps of the campus.

"We have three, unfit pre-teens, two young kids, one of which is a total idiot and the other is shorter than a dwarf, and no escape plans whatsoever." Nerris said in a bored tone. "What's there to review?"

"Well, we do have a map of the campus." Neil suggested, and he sighed as he looked at his fellow campers. He and Nerris were the only ones who were properly awake, Preston was falling asleep and Dolph and Space Kid had passed out ages ago. They were a pitiful sight. Neil's shoulders slumped.

"I suppose we should get some rest." He muttered. "You're right, Nerris, we only have this map, we don't even know where the guards are and the like."

"I find it hard to believe this is an actual summer camp." Preston yawned, before tucking his head under his arm, muttering something about beauty sleep. Neil allowed himself a yawn.

"What time is it?" He asked. Nerris shrugged, and rubbed her head, making her hair even messier than it already was.

"Let's just let it go for tonight, Neil." She told him. "Get some rest. We're not going anywhere sleepwalking. And remember what Pikeman said."

"Hard activities in the early morning. Shit." Neil sighed and went over to his bed. "Well, goodnight Nerris." Nerris nodded before flopping down on her own bed. It was hard, even harder than her bed back at Camp Campbell, and she hadn't thought that was possible. At least back at camp, it was fun and games, not serious brainpower. Nerris wasn't the most serious girl her age, she didn't get on with her classmates and had to hide her D&D obsessions and other things from her peers. Camp Campbell was one of the first places she'd gotten on with kids her own age, rather than just her dad.

Her dad...

Nerris gasped and sat upright. "Neil, NEIL!" She hissed.

"Argh, what!" Neil groaned. "I thought we were sleeping."

"I got an idea." She hissed. "What if we could get a message to the guys back at camp, then they could contact our parents. Whoever the leaders here are, they'll have to listen to ten full adults, we'll get to go home, even if we don't go back to Camp Campbell.

"Nerris, that's a great idea!" Neil gasped, sitting bolt upright. "We can-"

"What's a great idea?" A voice snapped. Neil and Nerris jumped and looked over at the doorway. Pikeman stood there, frowning. "What's a great idea?" He repeated.

"Erm, err, to build a wall around Mexico?" Neil said weakly.

"Don't say that in front of Snake, his mother's Mexican." Pikeman snarled, and the pair gave a sigh of relief. "He'll cut you up worse than a salami."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Neil muttered. "I thought we didn't have to get up for another two hours?"

"Well, our troop leader has suggested that you and your... friends take part in some extra fitness training." Pikeman said with a sly smile. "Starting in ten minutes."

"What!" Nerris exclaimed. Pikeman grinned.

"Best get ready." He told her, then disappeared from the doorway.

"Bastard." Neil muttered, rubbing his eyes. Then he kicked Preston in the leg.

"What!" Preston exclaimed, his head snapping up, eyes still shut.

"Time to get up." Neil told him with a smile, as Nerris took a more gentle approach to waking Dolph and Space Kid.

"It's too early." Space Kid groaned, rubbing his eyes.

"Wimp." Dolph muttered. "Back vhere I'm from, zis is oversleeping." No one wanted to ask where Dolph was from.

"Come on friends." Preston sighed. "I suppose we must- ARGH, MY HAIR!" He ran his hands through his messy, muddy hair.

"Shut up Preston, we've got bigger problems." Neil sighed.

"Yeah, like early morning boot camp." Nerris muttered bitterly. Everyone groaned.

...

"Max?" Max jumped and looked up. He had been so absorbed in his task he hadn't heard Gwen's approach.

"What?" He asked, still hammering on the structure. It was the early hours of the morning, and all the campers but Max had gone to bed. Gwen included. But Max had stayed, even though he was tired, even though every nerve he had was screaming for him to give in, he kept building.

"Max, what the hell are you doing?!" Gwen exclaimed, kneeling down beside the kid.

"What does it look like!" Max snapped, though his fingers were so cold he dropped the hammer. "Argh!" He snapped, gnashing his teeth.

"Max, why are you up this late?" Gwen asked him. Max stared down at the ground, not bothering to pick up his hammer.

"I've got to finish this. We can rescue Neil this time tomorrow!" Max said, but didn't move. He was shivering, and a light rain had been falling for hours.

"Max, go to your tent." Gwen out an arm around him, but the ten year old shrugged off angrily. "Staying up like this. It's not healthy, and beside, you're just going to be tired on your big raid, or whatever."

"Who cares." Max muttered. "Who gives a shit about me? As long as everything else is OK, I don't matter."

"Max, what the fuck?!" Gwen exclaimed. "Who told you this? Someone at school?"

"Who do you think?" Max muttered. "The very man who brought me into this world, who tells me to fix his problems because I'm the cause, that I cause every problem he has, at work, at home, with friends, when his team loses..." Max sniffed furiously. Gwen was shocked.

"Wh, what does your mum say?" She asked eventually.

"That she wishes she'd aborted me when she had the chance. At least I do the chores." Max quickly wiped his eyes on his already soaking hoodie. He stared away from Gwen and at the ground. Despite her major in phycology, Gwen had no idea what to say that would resolve the situation this time. And she couldn't take him out for pizza this time, and leave all the other kids unattended.

"Come to bed Max." Gwen said eventually, putting an arm on his shoulder. "You can sleep in David's bed." Max gained a little smile.

"Yeah, that sounds OK. Just... let me get something from my tent." He stood up and dashed off. Gwen smiled. He was sure the little monster would spend all morning going through David's things, but that was good. A distraction from Neil being missing was good for Max, even if it did mean extra torment for David. Well, her co-councillor was in Toronto. He wouldn't know for a while.

 **I can tell at least four people like this, because of favourites, but my only review is from chapter one. I can't tell what to improve unless I get feedback! Anyhow, hope you enjoyed :)**


	6. You're In!

**Bit of perspective change for the first bit :)**

David had never liked hotels. Too much stuff... provided, no foraging, no heating water over a fire, no fire allowed. Barely any nature. He's never liked cities either, so God only knew why Gwen had decided to send him to one. But he was getting used to it, and Gwen had actually been rather keen for him to leave. Well, Gwen was sweet and kind, and trying to give David a break from Max for a week, even if Max wasn't as bad anymore. David had actually caught him smiling on a nature hike once. It had been one of the happiest moments of the whole summer.

David was up early, munching on a biscuit that he had found next to the kettle in his room. He scanned the emails on his phone, looking for any new messages from Gwen. No, none, though there were a few to several shipping companies, about petrol and explosives. These came from the official Camp Campbell email address, but it was probably a mistake. David was just about to switch his phone off when something caught his eye. It was an email, but addressed to Gwen, not himself. But the title of the email was what intrigued him.

 _You're In!_

David knew it was none of his business, but he had to, and before he knew it, he had clicked on the email to open it. He gasped at the content.

"Gwen!"

...

Max yawned and blinked his eyes open. The sun was streaming in through a window above the bed; it seemed the bed had been deliberately so that the sun would wake up the person occupying it the moment it rose. Goddamn it David! The ten year old rolled over and fell onto the floor.

"Argh, shit." He muttered as he bashed his shoulder on the log he's had to kick out of the bed when he first got in. Why David would want to sleep with a log was beyond Max, but hey, Max had always guessed his camp councillor wasn't quite straight.

Rubbing his bruised shoulder, Max looked around the cabin. It was pleasantly light in there, with the sun streaming in through the windows. Not as dingy and clammy as the tents were in the morning, when everything was wet and smelly. Max grinned. He could get used to this. At least Gwen didn't snore, unlike Neil.

His happy expression faded a little when he thought of Neil, and he went over towards the door. He'd had a few hours sleep, he'd be fine to work on the artilary. But something made Max stop. He wanted to stay here for a little longer, in this little cabin paradise, before he had to face the real world.

Well, there were gadgets in here. He could finally search porn.

Max eagerly jumped up to the chair by the desk and switched on Gwen's computer. It had a passoword, but Edward Cullen was an easy guess.

Max was about to click on the internet icon, when an unread email appeared. It was captioned _You're In!_ Frowning curiously, Max clicked on the email. His mouth dropped open as he read.

"Holy shit." He muttered, then jumped off the chair and ran to wake Gwen.

"Gwen, wake up!" He shouted. Gwen jerked herself awake.

"Huh? What the hell..."

"Gwen, you've been trying to leave camp again, haven't you?" Max exclaimed. Gwen was awake at once.

"Max, what-"

"I saw your email!" Max declared, pointing at the computer. Gwen gasped and went over to the computer. She read the email over:

 _Dear Giselle_

 _Thank you for coming for your job interview, and after careful thought and evaluation of your useful degrees in phycology and meteorology, we would be delighted to offer you the job of being a weathergirl for Chicken Toes TV station. We hope to see you in station next Monday!_

 _Sincerely, Matty Hallam_

Slowly, Gwen's mouth dropped open as she read. "I don't believe it." She murmured. "I don't fucking believe it!"

"Yeah, neither do I." Max snapped. "You're just going to waltz off to the city and leave us here with no adults but the Quartermaster, who's so shady he's probably never even seen the sunshine! And we'll be left to rescue Neil and the others all by ourselves!"

"Max, I went for this interview weeks ago!" Gwen protested. "I had no idea-"

"Then why did you send David on holiday?" Max asked with a scowl. Gwen was taken aback.

"What?"

"Why did you send David away if you thought you'd be here when he came back?" Max stared into Gwen's eyes with sharp ferocity. "You sent David off to Toronto so you didn't have to face him, and could just run away like a coward!" Gwen's mouth dropped open, then it all caved.

"Yes." She muttered. "I got an email a few days before I sent David off, saying I'd been shortlisted for the job, but I couldn't bear to look David in the eye and tell him that I was leaving him and all you kids to go work at some stupid news company. So I decided to book him a vacation the right length so, if I did get the job, I would leave the morning he got back. He'd find a note on my desk and it would all be fine."

"So you're leaving in two days?" Max asked. Gwen shrugged.

"Well, everything's more complicated now, but..." She didn't need to say it. Max read it perfectly off her face.

"I get it." He snapped. "You've got your own life." He grabbed his hoodie off the floor and pulled it on over his head. "Well, I won't keep you from preparing." He marched angrily towards the door.

"Max, wait!" Max didn't wait, at least, not until he was about to step outside.

"I must have been crazy to think someone cared about me." He said, and slammed the door behind him.


	7. Escape Plan 1

It wasn't until lunch time that the five Campbell campers got a chance to speak again. By that time, they were all too exhausted and sore to eat, but forced the disgusting muck down their throats as Neil and Nerris explained the plan.

"But how would we get a message to back to camp?" Space Kid asked, poking his lumpy mashed potato with a fork. He made a face.

"You better eat it." Nerris told him. "Yeah, that's the hard part. We don't have any means of communication."

"If only we had brought our phones!" Preston sighed, grimacing at the taste and texture of the beef he was chewing on.

"Ve were asleep, weren't we?" Dolph muttered, moodily flicking peas across the room.

"Ten bucks says you'll never land one on Pikeman!" Preston told him. Dolph grinned, took aim and fired. Pikeman rubbed his head, wondering what had hit him.

"Pay the kid Preston!" Neil laughed as they all laughed, looking at the green splodge on the back of Pikeman's head. Preston sighed and brought ten dollars out of pocket, surprising his fellow captives.

"Wait, you have money?" Space Kid asked.

"I always keep spare cash in my pyjamas in case of emergency." Preston declared, patting the jingling coins.

"Damn, if only there was a phone box around here." Neil muttered, gazing longingly out of the window. A grin suddenly crept up on his face, and he started muttering to himself excitedly.

"I vonder if they do dessert..." Dolph asked no one in particular.

"Everyone, look!" Neil gasped, pointing excitedly out of the window. They all looked.

"What is it?" Nerris asked.

"Around the side of the lake, the lights, that camp!" Neil jabbered excitedly, pointing.

"What camp is that?" Preston asked him.

"Flower Scouts!" Neil told him. "Only an hours drive away!"

"So we run and live the rest of our lives as Flower Scouts?" Space Kid asked. "Only one of us is a girl Neil."

"No, that's not-" Neil gave an agrevated sigh. "What I mean is, maybe we don't have to get a message all the way to Camp Campbell? Only to some kindly ladies who will deliver it to them?"

"Neil, you're a fucking genius!" Nerris exclaimed. "But how are we going to message them?"

"I think I have an idea..." The nerd said with a grin. "Dolph, how far can you throw paper aeroplanes?"

...

The plan sounded simple, but was in fact, hideously complicated and it required all their skills. After lunch, Nerris and Preston slipped into the kitchen, gathering the most disgusting foods that were likely out of date so Nerris could create a potion which would make Preston throw up, many, many times. His role was to provide a distraction. Meanwhile, Neil laid out the plans for a simple, but effective, wooden machine, and it was his, Dolph and Space Kid's job to create that. It would have been fine, if they'd had anyone suited to manual labour. Two kids who hadn't yet hit puberty and one nerd, not even in his teens. Not the best construction.

"For fuck's SAKE, Space Kid, we need proper wood, not fucking twigs!" Neil groaned and ran his hands over his face. The hardest part seemed to be actually finding lumber, while staying hidden from the other Woodscouts. They did have free time, but didn't want to be spotted.

"Neil, I think I have found some!" Dolph called from a small tin shed. Neil came over and law mounds of pioneering poles. He grinned.

"Great work Dolph! Quick, help me haul these before we're spotted." The three boys managed to drag some of the poles to a blind spot that Neil had found, round the side of the kitchens. It was here that the machine would be based.

"Here's the plans." Neil said, taking a scrap of paper out of his pocket and showing the boys they both frowned.

"It looks like part of the space station." Space kid commented.

"Shut up." Neil told him. "And go find some rope. One of us better be good at pioneering, because my skills range from coding to making crystals..."

...

"Oh God, I really have to drink this?" Preston exclaimed, holding his nose.

"Be quiet!" Nerris snapped. "Do not disturb the mage while she is at work!" Preston rolled his eyes as he watched Nerris mix the dreadful concoction in a small bowl. They were hidden in the pantry of the Woodscout's kitchen, where Nerris could grab ingredients with ease, and better, no one could see them.

"It's almost ready!" Nerris exclaimed. "Just one last finishing touch, a sorceress's charm..." She spat into the bowl. Preston made a face.

"I really have to drink that?" He asked. Nerris nodded.

"Not yet." She told him, grabbing a jar and pouring the foul mixture inside. "Do you have any allergies?"

"Yes, gluten intolerant, wait!" Nerris poured flour into the mix.

"It won't kill you." She reassured him. "My dad's gluten intolerant."

"Yes, but said vomiting will increase dramatically, hives and a bit of bloody diarrhoea!" Preston snapped.

"Even better, you can cause quite a scene then!" Nerris grinned. She handed the jar to Preston. "You're the theatre kid, aren't you? Think of it as putting on a performance."

Preston sighed. "I know. I guess I'm just scared." Nerris frowned, this side of Preston never struck her to exist.

"We're all scared." She said. "Here, and in life. Scared of what people think of us, scared we're not where we belong."

"Not in the right camp." Preston muttered. "What do you fear, Nerris?"

Nerris considered for a while. "I suppose, that I keep making people hate me." She told him. "I get bullied a lot at school."

"We all get bullied at school." Preston gave her nod.

"Yeah, but friendly people as well. Like Harrison."

"Honestly? I always kind of thought you hated him - oh. Point taken." Preston said. Nerris shrugged.

"I think, when we get back to camp, I'll apologise."

"He probably feels the same way." Preston said encouragingly. Nerris handed him the jar.

"Let's go see how Neil and the others are doing." She said. Preston was about to answer, when-

"Hey, is someone in there!" They jumped at the sound of a Woodscout leader's voice. The two gave each other scared looks. If they were caught, they were dead.

Preston leaned over to Nerris and muttered a single word in her ear. "Window." Nerris followed his gaze upward and understood. There was a window at the very top of the pantry, god only knew why, and it looked large enough for some skinny kids to squeeze through. Carefully, they stood up, and preston gave Nerris a leg up so she could open the window.

"Hey, answer! Where are you?" The voice called.

"Hurry up, hurry up!" Preston whispered through gritted teeth.

"Shut up, SHUT UP!" Nerris hissed back.

"What the fuck's that awful smell?" The voice wondered to itself. Both kids looked at the jar in disgust. Nerris gave an excited gasp as the window slid open and the stench began to evaporate. She scrambled out of the window and onto the roof. She then extended her arms downward to pull Preston up.

"Don't forget the jar!" She hissed. Preston grabbed the jar, accidentally slopping a bit down his trousers.

"Argh, it REEKS!" He gasped, and his flailing leg accidentally caught a shelf full of tinned food, sending everything tumbling to the ground with a huge crash.

"SHIT!" Nerris screamed, and pulled both Preston and the jar out of the window, slamming it behind her.

"That was close!" Preston exclaimed.

"Yeah, but we've got to find the others." Preston said.

"What the fuck are you doing?" They jumped and looked down from the roof to see Neil standing next to what a pile of sticks and twine, Dolph and Space Kid arguing other something.

"Escaping!" Nerris called, sliding off the rooftop to join Neil and the others. "OK Preston, pass down the jar, carefully..."

...

It was almost time. Night had fallen. Preston was eating supper alone, the jar in his lap. He wasn't sure how fast the mixture would act on his stomach, and Neil had told him to wait at least ten minutes before taking any. Eight minutes had gone by, and he nervously wondered how the others were doing. The plan was risky as shit, and if they were caught, they were doomed. Basically, while Preston was causing a scene with a sudden, mysterious illness, Nerris and Neil would wait for the post truck that passed by every week, to pass the wall. When they heard it, they would catapult Dolph (the smallest and lightest and the paper aeroplane genius) onto the wall. From there, he would (hopefully; there was a lot of hope in this plan) throw the aeroplane, or note to the Flower Scouts, into the load of letters being delivered to the various camps around the lake. The truck had already been to Camp Campbell, but still had a few more stops. Hopefully, the girls would be able to get the message to Campbell. Hopefully.

"Oi, listen up, clear your trays and head for evening activities!" There came the usual shout from Pikeman, stood by the head table where he got to eat with the leaders and his friends. Preston looked at the clock. Nine minutes, but who cared? It was now or never.

Quick as a wink, the aspiring actor poured the foul liquid into his mouth, every last drop. He choked and gagged, but managed to force it down.

"God, that tastes like Gram Gram's Shepherd's Pie." He muttered, picking up his tray. For some reason, as he walked, his hands were mildly shaking and his legs were dragging on the floor, he felt a lot weaker. He frowned as a quiet rushing began in his ears. His vision was fading a little round the corners. He grimaced. Surely the stuff couldn't be working that quickly.

"Goodplay!" Preston jumped and turned to Pikeman, the teen's expression firm.

"Yes?" He asked weakly.

"Where are your other wimpy Campbell friends?" Pikeman snapped. "Surely they don't want to miss supper?"

Preston shrugged. He didn't trust himself to talk, he felt it rising in his throat.

"Well, when you see them, tell them that Pikeman wants to speak to them. Make it sound scary, like..." He looked at Preston and gasped. "Jesus Christ, what's that on your face?!" Preston knew exactly what was on his face. The first of several large, itchy patches that would soon appear all over his skin.

"And your face too, so pale, what-" Preston couldn't hold it in anymore. He dropped his tray to the ground and vomited - all over Pikeman's trousers.

Pikeman gave a yell, so several other Woodscouts looked around and saw what was going on. A few laughed, the few who didn't know what was good for them. Pikeman glared as Preston fell to his knees, gasping. He felt the next load coming up, and this time, aimed for Pikeman's shoes. He caught them spectacularly neatly and tried to grin at his handiwork, but before he knew it, he was vomiting again, he could feel hives all over his body. He saw everyone gazing at him in shock.

His audience.

His time to shine.

Preston Goodplay began his performance.

 **Sorry it's kind of long, we'll get to see our favourite ladies next chapter though! :)**


	8. Mail Call

**As confirmed: Flower Scouts! :)**

"Tabii! Hurry the fuck up!"

"Calm down Sasha." Erin said from her bed, brushing her long blue hair. Sasha glowered at the bathroom door.

"It's been ten minutes Erin!" Sasha stormed. "Even you only took eight!"

"Girls! Breakfast!" They heard Miss Priss shouting up the stairs. Sasha rolled her eyes.

"We're gonna miss the blueberry muffins!" All three girls from a room had to be down for them to get served, and Sasha was getting increasingly impatient. Finally, Tabii opened the door, hurridly straightening her eye patch.

"I can't tie my freaking hair up!" She moaned. Sasha sighed.

"Let me do it." She snapped, and turned her friend around, but was careful to be gentle. The three girls (though snappy at times) had been rooming with each other for three summers, and were close as sisters.

"Ready girls?" Erin asked, and the two shorter ones nodded in confirmation. The three of them descended the stairs gracefully, and got the nod of approval from a rather hung over Miss Priss.

"Very good girls, go get your breakfast." Sasha, Erin and Tabii headed to the long table, sat in their usual spots where their food had been graciously laid out.

"Isn't it mail day?" Erin asked no one in particular.

"Yeah, but he seems late. Trust a man." Tabii replied, biting into her toast. "But at least Sasha got her blueberry muffins."

"Tabii! Don't talk with your mouth full!" Sasha scolded.

"Sorry Sasha."

"Mail's here!" An older girl called from the door. There was excitement as the letters were handed out.

"Ooh, my mum's on vacation in Spain with her newest boyfriend." Erin noted, reading over the letter. "Look at the stamp!"

"My sister gave Travis a BJ!" Tabii exclaimed. At the head of the table, Miss Priss choked on her coffee.

"What's that?" A girl sat near them asked.

"I don't know. She won't tell me."

"You get anything good Sasha?" Erin asked. Sasha shrugged.

"Usual shit from mum and dad."

A letter was dropped in front of the three of them, well not really a letter, a piece of paper folded in half and sellotaped together. On the front, in awful handwriting, it said: _Sasha, Erin and Tabii, Flower Scouts_

"This was in the mail truck." The mail man said from behind them. "Not even mailed though. I don't know how it got in there."

"Wherever it's from, it stinks." Erin exclaimed, holding her nose.

"Let's throw it out!" Sasha reached for the letter.

"WAIT!" Tabii exclaimed. "I know that handwriting! It's from Neil! It must be a love letter. Oh at last." She held it to her chest.

"Then why is it addressed to all three of us?" Sasha sighed. "God Tabii, you're such an idiot!"

"Open it." Erin urged. Sasha took the letter from Tabii and, holding it away from her face, undid the sellotape.

"Oh, my God!" She exclaimed as she read.

...

With the rush and excitement of making weapons, everyone at Camp Campbell had quite forgotten that it was mail day. But as they sat down to breakfast, the Quartermaster handed out some envelopes.

"Hmm, I forgot this was today." Nikki said as she picked up her own envelope.

"Uh-hu." Max muttered, picking at his porridge. He had been avoiding Gwen all of yesterday after the email incident, but hadn't told anyone else about it. He was just wrapped up in his own misery, as usual.

"Ooh look! Mum has a new job!" Nikki waved the photograph in Max's face. "What's the uniform, do you think? A waitress?"

Max couldn't be bothered to be subtle. "Remember Muffin Tops, Nikki? That sort of place."

"Oh." Nikki slid the photo back into the envelope and started reading her letter. Max never got letters, but today seemed different, because a postcard was dropped in front of him by the Quartermaster. A picture of a smiling couple on a beach who weren't his parents. A typed message, the only thing handwritten was his name.

 _Greetings from our vacation in HAWAII! Wish you were here!_

Max scoffed. He had never seen such a big lie on a postcard. He crumpled it up and shoved it into the pocket of his hoodie, for later. Much later, when there was a campfire.

Max sighed and looked up at the other kids and their mail. Harrison and a short letter, which came with a present. Max turned his eyes away, to Ered, chewing on bacon and reading a long, typed note from her dads. Nurf receiving another knife.

And a pile of mail left on an empty table. Max stared for a moment, then slid off his seat, going over to it. A postcard from Space Kid's family, skiing in the alps. This had a long, handwritten message, unlike his own. Nerris had her usual letter, and a new pack of expansion cards. Preston's strange presents from his elderly grandmother who wasn't quite in the right state of mind. Dolph's father's messages, and his secret weekly subscription to YOUNG ARTISTS! And two more letters and a box. Some new parts for Neil's computer, and the mail from each of his parents. Max considered opening them.

"What is it Max?" He heard Nikki ask, coming over. He wordlessly showed her Neil's letters. Nikki took one and looked at the way Neil's mother had written his name, all curly, a little circle over the 'I'. The writing was filled with love, almost exactly the same as Neil's. Nikki hugged the letter and sniffed. Max slipped an arm around her, not really knowing how to comfort a person, but giving it his best shot.

"I miss Neil." Nikki muttered.

"Me too." Max told her. "But we'll see him soon, I promise." Embarrassed suddenly, he stepped away. He took all the mail for Neil, Nerris, Dolph, Space Kid and Preston, and took it to a cupboard in the corner of the room. He slipped it inside and noticed that everyone else was watching him.

"No one touches it." He said with a scowl. "No one reads or opens that mail until the people who it's addressed to can."

"Agreed." Harrison muttered, and everyone else nodded.

"Come on." Nurf said. "Let's go finish preparations. The lack of punch bags in this place is starting to get annoying."

"Yeah." Ered said as they all made their way outside. "It is. I'd even sit through one of Preston's boring plays to have them back, I suppose." Max found himself nodding in agreement. He did miss their presence, even Space Kid, which was saying something.

"There you are!" Max jumped and spun round to see three familiar and unwelcome faces.

"Sasha. Erin. Tabii with-" He chuckled.

"What's so funny?!" Tabii snapped.

"Oh, nothing." Max looked at the ground. "What are you doing here?"

"Delivering a message." Sasha told him, tossing a folded over piece of paper to the campers. Ered caught it and passed it to Max.

"This is addressed to you." He said suspiciously.

"Yeah, but, oh for God's sake, just read it. We gotta get back to camp."

They went back towards the pier, only with a slight wave goodbye, leaving Max to shrug and open the letter.

His face instantly cracked into the biggest, genuinely happy smile any of his fellow campers had ever seen.

"It's from them!" He exclaimed. "That's Neil's writing!"

"No way!" Harrison gasped, and everyone scrambled to see.

"Stop pushing!" Ered said. "Max, read."

"Gladly." Max said with a grin.

 **(If this format allowed different fonts, I'd use that to make it look like someone new is talking, but for now, I'll just switch backwards and forwards between italic)**

 _Hello, Sasha, Erin and Tabii. This is Neil. And Tabii, please don't pin this to your bulletin board you have of little mementos of me that I KNOW you have! We need you to pass this on to the kids back at Camp Campbell, because me and some of my fellow campers got into a bit of bother and we're no longer there. Just, stop reading here and pass it on, please. I'll be very grateful. Sincerely Neil._

 _Dear Max, or whoever's reading. We're OK, at least, for the time being. Though we're all sore, hungry and sleep deprived._ The food's awful! I feel sick! _Not as sick as I'm going to feel in an hour or so!_ And if I fall of a certain wall, I'll probably feel sick with concussion! _Sorry, people were snatching the biro pen all over. Anyway, we're fine, sort of, and if you're reading this, a risky plan worked, Preston will be throwing his guts up, Dolph may or may not be concussed, and yeah. It's a risky plan._ We built an awesome machine for it, but Neil says we'll have to burn it after it's been used, you know, destroy the evidence. _Sorry, I just don't know how to keep my hold on this crappy pen. Yeah, crazy plan. I hope you guys are doing well and the Quartermaster hasn't stabbed anybody or shit like that._

Just fucking write Neil! _If you guys stopped snatching the FUCKING PEN then I could! So, we have a plan. You guys can contact our parents, which could work to make Pikeman let us go or something. Yeah, we're kind of drained of ideas at that point, but you guys are smart, have good food and comfier beds, you'll think of something._ Stop but kissing Neil! _Sorry, he doesn't have respect, of know when to add a comma, which is weird for the amount of crappy plays he writes!_ Hey! Why you _STOP TAKING THE PEN!_

 _Gotta wrap things up, because Nerris says she hears footsteps. Good luck and good bye._ Harrison, if you're reading, I think your fire trick is kind of cool. _Can someone make sure my paints and canvasses aren't left out in the rain? Thanks._ I just gave Neil a black eye, and _NO YOU DIDN'T, LIAR PRESTON! He just lost his writing privileges._ One small letter from us, one giant leap for the escape! :)

"Their plan worked, alright." Nikki said as Max folded up the letter. "And their plan?"

"It's less risky and more legal than ours." Harrison noted, grinning very widely at Nerris's comment about his magic.

"Our's is more fun though." Nurf said.

"We'll try both." Max said. "Someone, go take this to Gwen. He handed it randomly to someone behind him. "Everyone else, come on. To the activities field!"

"I thought the weapons were done?" Nikki asked as Harrison headed off with the letter.

"Almost, but we're not doing that." Max told her. "We're going to write them a letter back."


	9. The consequence of speaking your mind

**Be warned: I have a habit of being a d*ck to my favourite characters.**

"I feel like shit!"

"That's understandable." Neil sighed for what felt like the thirtieth time that day. Preston had laid on his bed, groaning for the whole morning. And last night he had not stopped spewing, even long after the letter had been delivered. The other four had pretended to also come down with the 'mysterious illness, and had gotten the day off. But Neil was getting seriously sick of Preston being sick.

"No, seriously, I think I'm dying!" Preston exclaimed. "I TOLD you not to add the flour, Nerris!"

"My potion did it's work, did it not?" Nerris scowled at Preston from the other side of the room.

"Seriously Preston, shut up. We all did our jobs, but you're giving us all headaches.

"Uh-hu!" Dolph called from the other side of the room. He hadn't fallen off the wall, and therefore wasn't concussed, but hadn't been able to sleep for many nights, so was doing his best to catch up.

"See, you're keeping little kids awake!"

"Not all of them." Nerris noted, nodding at Space Kid, who was snoring gently. "Look on the bright side, Preston. We got a message out of the compound, possibly all the way to Camp Campbell, and if it works, we could be getting out of here soon!"

"You guys might." Preston muttered gloomily. "But my grandma's so frigging blind she can barely read anymore."

"And you go off to a summer camp and leave her by herself?" Dolph asked.

"I have an older sister, but she works."

"Lucky." Neil muttered. "Hashtag, only child."

"Relatable." Dolph told him.

"Houston!" All four of them jumped violently and turned to see Pikeman stood in the doorway. "You all don't look very sick." He noted.

"Brief spells of calm, then our stomachs jump around again." Neil said, clutching his gut. Pikeman made a face.

"Very well. Houston, I hope you can stand up. Come with me!"

It wasn't a request, it was an order. Dolph gulped and slid off his bed, giving his fellow campers one last look of 'remember me as a hero' and followed Pikeman out of the room.

The pair walked down the corridor in silence. Dolph's stomach was crawling with nerves, like worms. He hated worms, gave him the creeps. But Pikeman scared him, legitimately scared him. Not many things did, he had never feared the monsters under the bed or in the cupboard. His father's stories of the true terrors of life had left his head filled with the wonder of fighting wars, not that that was what he liked doing. Perhaps fighting an art contest, or painting a battle field. No, despite his heritage and background, Dolph was not a soldier.

"Vhat is zis about?" He asked nervously.

"Oh, you'll find out." Pikeman said. He looked around. The corridor was clear. He then turned to the young artist.

"Last night." He began, his eyes narrowed. "Do you remember what you were doing?"

"Sicking my guts up." Dolph lied. A small grin played on the corner of Pikeman's lips.

"Really? So I didn't see you walking along the campus wall last night with my own eyes?" Dolph gasped, and Pikeman let lose with his evil grin. "Yes, I saw the shadow of a young Woodscout walking up there, and the only other person short enough to match that shadow was Snake, who was with me at the time. I wonder who it could have been..." He leered at Dolph, who considered running. But Pikeman was far taller, and would catch him before he had gone ten paces. So he took a wary step back instead.

"Aha! Got you, little rat!" Pikeman exclaimed, catching hold of Dolph's arm, squeezing it tight so it hurt. "Never in all my years have I had a Woodscout with the audacity to-"

"I'm not a Woodscout." Dolph muttered.

"What?!"

"I said, I'm not a Woodscout!" Dolph eyed Pikeman with his steady blue eyes. He was going to be brave, goddamit!"

"Not yet." Pikeman snapped. "But you have always seemed the more promising of your fellow recruits. Maybe one day, your picture could take my place on the wall."

Dolph wished he was tall enough to slap Pikeman for daring to suggest such a thing. But spending the majority of his summer with someone like Max hadn't taught him nothing.

"Fuck you!" He spat at Pikeman. For a moment, the older boy was speechless. Then he gave a growl of anger and hit Dolph hard in the face, so hard he was lifted off his feet and smacked into the wall behind. He sat there for a few moments, dazed, a throbbing pain beginning in his head. Pikeman took a breath and calmed down a little, running his hands through his auburn hair.

"That'll teach you to speak to me in that manner!" Pikeman snapped. "Go, back to your room, and if anyone else asks, you'll say you fell over if you know what's good for you!"

Dolph hauled himself off the floor and ran, as fast as he could away from Pikeman, which wasn't very fast, considering his short legs and throbbing head. He had to stop momentarily to actually vomit a little. Actual concussion, he supposed. He clutched his head as he entered the room.

"Oh Dolph, you're back - Jesus, what happened to your eye?!" Neil gasped. Preston and Nerris both whirled around to look. They gasped, so Dolph guessed it must be bad.

"I don't know, just, shut up, please." He moaned, going over to his bed and shoving a pillow into his face. The older three shared looks.

"You think he's alright?" Neil whispered.

"No. A bruise like that on a child is the result of child abuse." Preston told him in a 'that's obvious' tone.

"Damn." Neil muttered.

"I said SHUT UP!" Dolph groaned.

...

Dolph remained in the same spot with a pillow over his face for most of the day, Preston's groaning ground to a halt as his stomach started to recover and Space Kid eventually woke up.

"Aww." He muttered as he rose. "I dreamed I was older NASA sent me to the moon!"

"Why wait?" Neil muttered bitterly. It had passed lunch time, but no food had arrived for them, and their stomach's were growling, especially Preston, who had vomited up everything he had eaten the day before.

"I'm hungry." Dolph muttered, lifting his head at last. Neil winced just looking at his face. His left eye was bruised black and swollen badly, and Dolph had a small wince at the corner of his mouth, which showed just how bad it really was.

Space Kid's unprepared eyes wondered over and he gasped, a really dramatic gasp, his mouth hanging open.

"Oh dear, what happened to your face?!"

"I don't want to talk about it." Dolph muttered. "But seriously, when are we-" But his words were cut off by a gasp as there was a screech and something smacked into the window.

"Jesus Christ!" Preston exclaimed as they all turned to the window. A few seconds later, a bird rose up and flapped, pecking at the window.

"It's a bird." Neil stated.

"It's a carrier pigeon!" Dolph exclaimed. "Let it in, quick!"

Nerris and Preston scrambled to open the window, and the bird fluttered in. None of them really knew what to do, until Dolph stuck his arm out in a pose that was obviously familiar to the bird, as it swooped down an sat on it's arm, preening itself.

"You seem trained." Nerris noted.

"Carrier pigeons were a key element of many wars." Dolph told her, and he looked at the leg of the bird. "Ooh look, a message!" Neil scrambled forwards and took the message off the bird, unrolling it. His mouth dropped open.

"What does it say?" Space Kid asked.

"Love notes for Pikeman?" Preston asked eagerly.

"It's addressed to US!" Neil exclaimed.

"No way!" Nerris gasped. "From-"

Neil nodded. "They got our message!" He sighed happily.

"So I wasn't on the wall for nothing!" Dolph exclaimed. "Read it, go on!"

Neil cleared his throat and began: **(Same format as before)**

 _WE GOT YOUR MESSAGE! Hope you all aren't too badly hurt! Do you like the bird, we found carrier pigeon camp, or rather, an old guy in town. We can send messages back and forth now! We_

I'll shut Nikki up now. It's Max, nice to know you're alive. Your plan worked, we got the letter, and we were working on our own plan actually, involving flamethrowers and petrol bombs, you know, the usual. _The other, more legal plan, we will try on, but if things start exploding, await resuce! :D_ Yeah, we'll blow the CRAP out of the place!

 _Max again. I obviously have the same problems as you Neil. The weapons and stuff are almost ready, maybe a day or two more. Not much to say here, but keep in touch through bird. Just say 'cheese' and she'll return to us. Don't ask. :)_

I put your stuff indoors Dolph. I hope you're not concussed ;) Ered

 _Thanks Nerris, it is :) I think your magic's pretty cool too._

THIS IS NURF, I CAN'T WAIT TO WEDGIE YOU ALL AGAIN, HAHA!

 _And Nikki here, Max misses you Neil :) I do too, but maybe not as badly._

Ignore her! Anyhow, send your reply soon.

"That was pleasant." Preston noted as Neil finished reading. "What shall we send back?"

"We haven't got anymore paper, unless we leave the room." Nerris told him.

"And then it's back to boot camp." Space Kid sighed. They all looked at each other for a long while.

"Well, I suppose it's worth it to message to our friends." Preston said. They all looked at each other with sorry eyes.

"Come on then." Neil sighed as he stood up. "This place was meant to toughen us up, after all."

"Yeah, and even Nurf's punches won't hurt as much as my head does now." Dolph sighed, rubbing the back of his skull. He tore a small strip off his bedsheet and tied it round his head as an eyepatch.

"Let's go face the world!" Space Kid exclaimed.

 **Yep, I'm an a**hole to my favourite characters.**


	10. Packing a Suitcase

**Whoa, chapter 10! :) I just want to say thanks to a Guest reviewer, the ninth review, who left a message that really made my day. I really wanted to PM you, but you know, guest :)**

 **(you know the format by now)**

 _Hi Max, the bird was a good idea. Turns out, Dolph learnt pigeon skills from another WW2 like thing... I don't even want to say it._ He says it's just history lessons from being homeschooled.

 _Whatever. We're doing OK here, Preston stopped throwing up half an hour ago, and Dolph didn't fall off the wall, but_ I'm fine, don't worry.

 _Had to keep it short because we want an early night before we get up at six tomorrow, so yeah. Enjoy breaking us out and shit, have a nice day :) Neil_

"They agree with the bird." Max said as he read the little note over. "Good idea there Nikki."

Nikki grinned. "What else does it say?"

"Preston's recovered, Dolph's not concussed, I think they're doing OK."

"Sounds good" Harrison told him. "But what happens now?"

"Gwen was setting up an email for all their parents, telling them to get down here." Max said, taking some paper out of his pocket and scribbling down a reply. "I'm going to check on that." He tied the paper to the bird's leg and said the code word. It flew off. Max turned, leaving Harrison stuffing rabbits into his hat, Nurf carving his name into a nearby tree and Ered checking something on her phone. He headed over to the councillor's cabin with the letter in hand. He knocked.

"Gwen?" He called.

"Max?" She called back. He opened the door and saw Gwen stuffing her laptop into a bag. He sighed.

"You're leaving then?" Gwen sighed too.

"I don't have a lot of choice Max. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity for decent money and to make my parents proud of me for once. Someday, you'll understand."

"I already do." Max told her, picking up one of Gwen's discarded romance novels and handing it to her. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she took it and put it in her suitcase.

"When are you leaving?" He asked.

"Tomorrow afternoon, a few hours before David gets back in the evening." She sighed and looked down at the ten year old. "Max, are you sure you're OK with this."

"Well, we could get another cultist as your replacement." Max told her with a joking smile. Then more serious. "Well, I suppose so, I mean, it's your life. And we'll have David. And Neil and the others could be back by then, if we carry out plan firebomb."

"I like that plan." Gwen told him. "More than plan legal eagle, and it's bound to be quicker anyhow."

"Did you send the emails?" Max asked eagerly.

"No, not yet."

"Cancel them. We're going to break Neil and the others out, tonight, and we're going to do it our way!

Gwen smiled proudly. "You know what? I never thought I'd say this, but I'm going to miss Camp Campbell."

...

"I miss Camp Campbell." Nerris sighed as they lay on their beds in the small amount of time they had to rest before the afternoon began.

"I think we all do." Space Kid replied, playing with his rock/rocket. "I want to go back to space camp."

"Magic Camp." Nerris replied.

"Theatre!" Preston declared. "The joy of standing on stage and performing!"

"The painful nightmare of watching you." Nerris muttered.

"Or having to act!" Neil said. "I don't think I've ever been that sweaty in my life! Well, until I became a Woodscout."

"We're not Woodscouts." Dolph reminded him, rubbing his good eye. "And I always found acting kind of fun." **(yep, I have failed in the department of making him sound German)**

"You would. You're seven."

"Well, at least you two can act!" Preston told them. "Unlike some people!" He watched Space Kid bringing his pretend rocket into land. He suddenly jumped up and pointed.

"Look, the bird's back!" He exclaimed. They all jumped up too, and watched the pigeon come in for landing through the window. It made for Dolph's pillow, threw up a worm and stuck it's foot out.

"Gross." Neil muttered, taking the note.

 _It's Max. Gwen sent the emails, I think, I'm going to check now. You'll be out before you know it :)_

"They sent the emails!" Neil exclaimed. "God, I hope it's my mum that shows up!"

"My uncle Buzz could come!" Space Kid exclaimed. "Or granddad Neil!" He looked ecstatic at the prospect.

"My dad could drop off some of the dragon saying gear I left at home!" Nerris exclaimed. "I do need to get rid of the ones in the caves deep in the woods."

"If no one shows up from my family, can I get away with saying Space Kid's my cousin, I wonder?" Preston wondered.

"Enjoy the rest of your lives!" Dolph muttered gloomily. "If my papa sees this place, I'm never coming home! It's like an army training camp for kids." Neil and Nerris shared a look.

"I'm sure he won't be that stoic." Neil told him. "I mean, look at your face!"

Dolph shrugged and fiddled with his makeshift eyepatch. "Even if not, I'll find a way out and go live with Mama. She'll be a nice change."

"See, things are looking up!" Preston exclaimed.

"Err guys. They just crashed down like an asteroid." Space Kid said nervously. They all turned round, followed his gaze to see...

Pikeman. Snake. Two ugly grins that meant instant trouble.

"Shit!" Neil gasped, and everyone else shrank back away from the doorway.

"So. Messaging Camp Campbell, are we?" Pikeman asked, then dropped his grin into an angry scowl. He snatched the rock and hurled it at the bird with all his strength. It his the pigeon in the head with such force that it exploded in a mass of blood and feathers. Dolph (who was closest) squealed and scrambled even further back from his pillow.

"I wondered why you were late to afternoon activities..." Pikeman snapped. "And I suppose you were planning your way back!" He didn't look angry. He was livid. Snake, however, kept a lazy grin as he watched his boss snap at the scared campers.

Neil took a deep breath. What would Max do?

"What are you gonna do, zit face?" He sneered with a cocky grin as Nerris, Preston, Space Kid and Dolph watched in amazement. "Give us all black eyes?"

Pikeman looked like he was considering it for a moment. Then he took a sharp breath and calmed down.

Slightly.

"You're lucky that I've just eaten." He snapped. "Or I would be far more angry."

"And you don't want to get kicked out of the Woodscouts for child abuse." Preston muttered. Pikeman glared at him and he ducked his head, remembering that he needed to be afraid.

"No. But I do propose alternative punishment." He clapped his hands, a nasty smile returning to his lips.

"Up! One hundred laps of the compound, no walking allowed, no stopping and whoever is at the back for the most minutes gets no dinner for THREE DAYS!"

"WHAT!" They all gasped.

"Haha, that'll show you!" Pikeman snarled, and he and Snake laughed. "Snake, my man, go onto the main roof, tell them you have my permission, and shoot down any bird you see flying this way. We don't want any more correspondence."

Snake nodded and, still grinning evilly, led the way out.

"Well, don't just stand there, idiots!" Pikeman snapped. "Get out there and get running!" He laughed his evil laugh as the Camp Campbell campers wearily got to their feet, harbouring many regrets.

"I hate him." Space Kid muttered darkly.


	11. World's worst paramedic

"Is anyone from boat repair camp?" There was a shaking of heads. "For FUCK'S sake, we are wasting FUCKING time!"

"Calm down Max." Nikki told him. "We'll find another boat." Max rolled his eyes in exasperation. Night was falling and the five of them had to get across the lake soon if they were to rescue their friends by sunrise, six if you counted the ever ferocious mascot, Muack. They were all armed to the teeth with firebombs, flamethrowers and many of Nurf's knives. Well, Harrison, Muack and Nikki went without, but Harrison had his hat, which Max had seen him stuffing with artillery earlier, and the other two were basically wild animals. Max had one more item no one knew about, tucked into the pocket of his hoodie. It had been so clumsily mended it was easy to fold in half, and Max hoped the Order of the Sparrow would bring him luck on the raid.

Max looked at the rising moon and kicked at the sandy ground that surrounded the pier. All the others looks cluelessly at the boat, or the ground. Bloody useless idiots, all of them. Max scowled and marched away from his comrades. He arrived at a large bush, and stomped his foot on the ground, again and again. They couldn't even leave the bloody pier! Their mission was doomed to fail, they'd never rescue Neil, he'd be a Woodscout forever, or at least, the rest of the summer. Then Max would never see him again.

He kicked the bush, hoping to injure some squirrel, make someone else suffer for a change. But the only person who got hurt was himself, as his foot connected with metal and he cursed, hopping and clutching his shoe. Once the pain cleared, Max examined the hole he'd made in the bush. White metal was showing, and a blue painted C.

"Hey, everyone. Come over here!" Max called, beginning to clear away the leaves. He was quickly joined by the rest of the campers.

"What is it?" Harrison asked, examining the metalwork.

"I don't know, just, help me move all this bush."

Five minutes later, everyone's mouths dropped open, even Ered's. It was a seaplane, a small one, but a seaplane nonetheless. It looked like it could accommodate five passengers and one platypus easily.

"Oh yeah!" Nikki cheered. "Jackpot!"

"But how is it here?" Nurf wondered. "Why didn't the councillors ever mention that we had a fucking SEAPLANE on campus?"

"Maybe they didn't know." Max said. "I mean, look at the writing. Campbell Airlines. Looks like another one of Campbell's escape routes."

"Well now it's our super awesome entrance." Ered said with a grin as she swung open the door and climbed inside. "All aboard the liberation express."

"Nice name." Max noted as Ered sat down in the pilot's seat.

"Hmm, bit different from a helicopter, but I'll try." The cool girl muttered. "Belt up everybody, incase I crash this joint."

"Ohhh, this is gonna be AWESOME!" Nikki bounced up and down in her seat, peering out of the window. Max had never been on a plane before, and after hearing all about the crazy plane crashes and disappearances, had vowed he never would. He glanced at the other passengers. There were only six seats, not counting the driver's seat, and they were all pretty small. He, Nikki and Harrison sat opposite Nurf and Muack, both of whom looked bored, and were fiddling with their own personal sharp things: claws and pocket knives. Harrison was shuffling a deck of cards, a nervous habit of his. Max didn't really have anything but a crate of old grenades at his feet. He smiled a little. He was going to bomb the shit out of Pikeman, man did he hate the other boy's guts.

"Taking off." Ered called and Max felt a jolt as the little plane lifted off the ground. He clutched at his armrest nervously. Nikki seemed to notice his odd behaviour.

"Scared?" She asked, sitting down properly. Max scowled.

"No. I've just never flown before."

"Neither have I, which is why this is gonna be FUN!"

"Whatever." Max muttered, clutched the armrest tighter as he felt Ered propel them through the air at a sudden burst of speed, faster than any boat ever could have gone. Because she was far too flat to wear a seatbelt, Muack came speeding across the cabin and onto Max's lap, making him yell out and shove the animal to the floor.

"Fuck off!" He gasped, feeling sweat bead onto his forehead.

"Are you sure you're OK Max?" Nikki asked. Max rolled his eyes.

"Fine, no, I'm just nervous we're going to crash and die." He spat, and shut his eyes. He felt Nikki slide her hand into his.

"To be honest, I'm kind of nervous too." She whispered. Max managed a smile.

"Well, think about when we have the others back. Everyone will want to be in pilot camp, it'll be awesome! No one will ever touch one of those crappy boats again!"

"Yeah, Space Kid will use it as a rocket, and Neil will want to take it apart or something nerdy like that. When we get them back, it's going to be great!"

"Yeah." Max agreed with a nod, though his hands and face were still sweating, and a tiny voice in the back of his mind was still saying: if, we get them back.

...

"ARGH! Preston, for fuck's sake, MIND WHERE YOU POKE IT!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Preston fumbled with some crappy bandages they had found in attempt to strap Nerris's leg straight. Their punishment exercise had been cut short after Nerris had tripped over a rock and broken her ankle, which was now swelling quite badly. Pikeman had remained true to his word, there had been no breaks, not even for Neil, who had had multiple asthma attacks, but had been allowed to walk a little, pumping on someone's crappy inhaler, as his was still back at Camp Campbell. He lay on his bunk, breathing heavily, and they were all thankful it wasn't more serious. Space Kid and Dolph had passed out on the floor the moment, they had done so the moment they entered the room and were now unconscious or asleep. The others were all too busy or too in pain to check.

"There, will that do?" Preston asked nervously. Nerris winced and looked at her swollen ankle.

"It'll have to because whoever taught you first aid was a crap teacher, or didn't know it themselves."

"No one taught me." Preston said with a scowl. "I'd leave it to Neil, but he seems wiped out at the moment."

"Nah." Neil wheezed, rolling over. "I'm... I'm fine."

"Just rest." Nerris told him. "Then you will be fine." Gingerly, she shifted her weight towards the side of the bed and swung her feet over the edge. She tried to put weight on her bad foot and, wincing, stood up.

She promptly fell to the floor, gasping and cursing. Her flailing arm caught Space Kid on the head, making him shake her off and grumble in his sleep: "Go away mummy, I'm on the way to Mars."

"At least Space Kid's not dead." Neil sighed, slowing his breathing. "God, we're a pitiful sight, aren't we?"

"Uh-hu. One can't walk, one can't breath, two can't even stay conscious..."

"Yep, we have officially failed this section of the life test." Nerris sighed. "Damn, what I wouldn't give to walk out on this section of the test."

"Literally or figuratively?" Preston asked. "Because you can't even take a literal step right now Nerris."

"I know!" Nerris snapped, then sighed, running her hands through her muddy hair. "God, Preston, I'm sorry. I just... hate feeling this bloody useless."

"Don't we all?" Neil sighed. "Damn, I wonder what they're getting up to back at camp."

"Probably forgotten all about us." Preston muttered gloomily. "Well, not you Neil, you're Max's best buddy, I'm sure you have a whole squadron coming for you. But us? No one at camp are even really friends with us." The spite in his voice was plain.

"Preston... I'm sure that's not true." Neil protested, squirming a little. "Right Nerris?"

"Though he's the world's worst medic, he has a point." Nerris muttered. "All the kids at camp barely even speak to each other, unless Nurf wants money, or someone wants to put on a show. You, Max and Nikki are the only friends there."

"Yeah, that's because all you lot never try!" Neil snapped, feeling flushed and embarrassed. "I've seen it, all awkward conversation. Sure, you're all nice to each other, but too wrapped up in your own interests and camps to spend time with anyone else, that's the problem!" He immediately blushed, but Nerris frowned, thinking of Harrison, how their magic combined could probably do something spectacular.

"Maybe." She muttered, but the pain was numbing her mind. "What time is it?"

"Almost dinner." Preston said, listening to his growling stomach.

"Best wake the others." Neil sighed, rolling off his bed. "If we'll even get fed, it's kind of unlikely if you think about it."

"Might as well try." Nerris told him as Neil gently shook Dolph, and was immediately slapped in the face.

"Argh, Dolph, what the fuck?!"

"Reflexes!" Dolph snapped. "Why did you wake me up?!"

"Do you want to get fed or not!" Neil snapped, and Dolph grumbled a little more, but rolled over and picked himself up.

"Actually, shouldn't have bothered nerd kid." Neil didn't jump when he heard Pikeman's sneering voice anymore, he just sighed and rolled his eyes because he knew his life was about to get twenty times worse.

"Let me guess." Neil rolled his eyes as Dolph went to sit on his bed, presumably going to fall asleep again. "Because of our disciplinary actions we shall receive, not only extra physical activity, but no meals until we complete the rest of our sixty four laps."

"You got it." Pikeman sneered. "Good luck losers, we'll make Woodscouts out of you yet." He laughed his evil laugh as he strode away. Neil breathed heavy, not from asthma, but from pure anger and loathing.

"Bastard!" He yelled chucking his pillow at the wall. "The stupid-"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Pikeman called from down the corridor. Neil let out an enraged growl and span around, striking hard at the concrete wall.

"Neil!" Nerris exclaimed as Neil cursed, clutching his hand.

"OWWW!" He howled. All the commotion caused Space Kid to awake with a jolt.

"Whassgoinon?" He murmured.

"Great, another job for Preston, world's worst paramedic!" Nerris sighed as Neil clutched his fingers in pain. "And we're going to be starving for days!"


	12. Little Friends, Big Firepower

"Coming in for landing!" This was the moment Max had been dreading. He clutched his armrests. Nikki sat down properly for once. Harrison sat his hat back on his head and became the first to do up his seatbelt. Nurf put his knife away in his pocket. Muack quacked. Ered concentrated on the little clearing she had found to land the little plane in. It wasn't too far from the Woodscout's camp, but dawn had broken over their heads, and there wasn't much chance of breaking in unnoticed now.

Ered had never flown a seaplane before, only helicopters, bikes and cars. The truth was, she was the most nervous in the plane, but there was no way she was going to show it. Biting her tongue gently between her teeth, Ered lowered the little plane gently to the forest floor. It jolted, bumped, rattled and crashed to the ground, but she'd done it! Man, her dads were going to be proud. Or mad. Now Ered had to figure out if she was going to tell them or not.

"Everyone OK?" She called over her shoulder. Max and Harrison looked pretty rattled, Nikki, excited and the other two, expressionless as usual.

"Woohoo, that was AWESOME, Ered!" Nikki exclaimed, jumping out of her seat, grinning ear to ear. "Again, again!"

"Once we get the others back, I'll learn some fancy tricks and seaplane club will be SUPER cool!" Ered told Nikki with a smile.

"Come on guys." Max got shakily out of his seat. "We made it this far. Now we need a plan of action. What time is it?"

"Round about lunchtime." Nurf muttered, as his stomach rumbled. Max groaned.

"Great. Now we have to wait EVEN LONGER to rescue Neil and the guys."

"Will they be OK?" Harrison asked anxiously. Max sighed and ran his hands through his messy hair.

"Fine, Harrison. They'll be fine and dandy and we'll all be home in time for tea." He sighed. By the time they got back to camp, Gwen would be gone and David would have returned. No more cynical voice, always complaining about the late release dates of her favourite novels, always snapping at the campers, telling Nikki to stop chasing squirrels, shouting at Nurf to let go of Neil, dragging Dolph from Art Camp when it was time for one of David's stupid nature hikes. Only that overly happy, equally annoying councillor with his little necktie, love for the forest and pushy attitude. So what if Max didn't want to enjoy life? There was no need to force him into David's likes.

Even if nature hikes were kind of fun.

Max suddenly realised that everyone was watching him. He gave a sigh, and a scowl.

"Come on. Let's discuss battle strategies.

...

Space Kid was feeling glum again. He didn't like feeling this way, but it couldn't really be helped. He didn't belong in this mess of a summer camp, he liked it back in the sunny neck of the woods, with his little rocket, mending it, going inside and practising for the days he'd follow in his great grandfather's footsteps. Staying up SUPER late, even later than he'd be allowed to at home, chatting to Dolph about random stuff, sometimes until ten o'clock at night! This certainly had been the best summer ever for Space Kid. But now... Now Dolph was too tried to chat, and so was he. There was no friendly councillor, promising him he'd be the most famous astronaut ever one day. No rockets, only hard, hard work.

Space Kid knew space training would be hard work, but that would be when he was taller, stronger, bigger. Not when he was in third grade!

He had had to leave the little room where they slept; the others were all grumpy and mean, even Nerris, who had always been kind to him. And he was hungry too. He planned to sneak into the kitchen through the skylight and bring food to the others and himself, return as a hero. Yeah, that would put them all in a good mood.

He reached the back of the kitchen. It was a tall building, and he wasn't a tall person. It was a conundrum.

Before he could even give it the slightest bit of thought, however, he was shoved roughly to the ground with a heavy force on his back.

"Listen up, Woodscout! You have the easy way and the hard way, tell us where our friends are, or I pull your teeth out one by one! What's it gonna be?" That voice was awfully familiar.

Then another familiar voice: "Nikki, let him over, or you'll suffocate him." This voice didn't seem to care much though. Space Kid was roughly flipped onto his back and, through his bleary eyes, he saw a familiar and very welcome face. Two very familiar and welcome faces.

"Nikki? Max?"

Nikki growled and slapped him in the face. "How do you know our names, huh? Did sasquatch tell you! Huh? HUH!"

"Nikki! It's Space Kid!" Nikki gasped and scrambled off him. Space Kid sat up.

"Damn, what the hell happened to you?!" Max exclaimed. "You look..."

"Weird." Space Kid said. "Neil keeps complaining he doesn't like it when I don't have my helmet."

"Yeah, and you do NOT suit that get up." Nikki commented on the bare, muddy Woodscout uniform.

"How are the others?" Max asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice that Space Kid had never heard before.

"Well, Nerris broke her leg or something, and Dolph's got an eyepatch, but I think we're all OK. Have you come to break us out?" A huge smile cracked over his face, a smile of hope.

"Sure have." Nikki said proudly. "Ered and the others are hidden in the woods, and we're going to storm the place, tonight!"

"Oh wow!" Space Kid exclaimed. "Neil said it was down to us now, I think they've all given up on you."

"Cheek." Nikki muttered.

"Yeah, so you go back to them, tell them the news." Max told him. "We'll go back to our ride and prepare." Space Kid nodded eagerly and, with a last wave of goodbye to his friends, ran all the way back to the cell where his friends were.

"Guys, you will never guess what!" He exclaimed, entering with his happy, bouncy attitude.

"A unicorn's gonna fly us out of here." Nerris said sarcastically.

"Pikeman was assassinated by foreign armies." Dolph muttered hopefully. "If only."

"The guys from Camp Campbell are here!" Space Kid exclaimed happily. "They're busting us all out, today!"

The dramatic happy and grateful reaction he had anticipated, seemed to be skipping class today.

"Of for fuck's sake Space Kid, we're not in the bloody mood." Preston snapped. "We've got, like, five minutes until we have to go running again, I have a motherfucker of a headache and don't need stupid stories!"

"But it's not a story!" Space Kid protested. "They're all hidden in the woods, and Max said they're storming the place tonight, he and Nikki were in the compound!"

"As fucking if." Neil rounded on him angrily. "Max wouldn't make his way out here for some dumb kids, selfish bastard. We're gonna be stuck here all summer, so quit fucking playing around and accept it!"

"But it's true!" Space Kid felt a tear form in his eye. "You guys believe me, right Nerris? Dolph?"

But the two he'd usually considered friends, scowled at him. It seemed that today was a very bad day indeed. Space Kid scowled back.

"I'll show you all!" He snapped, and turned to the doorway. "I'm going to find them again!"

"Space Kid, what-" Nerris began, but Space Kid had already run angrily out of the door.

"He'll be back." Neil grumbled. "Stupid kid."

But Space Kid did not return in the few minutes they had left, nor was he seen when the four of them wearily started their laps again. Neither was Pikeman. This was obviously a bad sign.

"Where do you think he is?!" Preston asked anxiously as they ran along. Neil shrugged.

"Hiding, most likely. Sulking in a corner. Ran away and left us all behind. Who knows?"

"I hope he's OK." Dolph muttered, jogging a little way behind the others. His head was starting up with an ache again, and he really wanted to just stay behind with Nerris, as she couldn't even walk, let alone run laps.

"Pff, he'll be fine." Preston said. "It's not like this is an actual prisoner of war camp anyway."

...

"I thought you lot would have learnt your lessons after what happened to your little friend." Pikeman snapped. "But no, I find you trying to climb the wall, like an idiot."

"Shut up." Space Kid muttered moodily. Why couldn't Max and Nikki just HURRY UP! He wanted to leave already, and Pikeman was scaring him.

Or were they even coming at all. Maybe he had just imagined the whole thing?

"Don't you DARE talk to me like that, you-" Pikeman snarled, but then was cut off by a huge explosion, screams and cries of delight.

"What the HELL was that?!" He exclaimed. Space Kid grinned, his confidence restored.

"My friends are here." He said triumphantly. "And you're about to see what happens when you mess with Space Camp!"


	13. The new Woodscout

**If anyone reads my other fic, Laughter is the best Treatment, there's no need to read what comes next. If you haven't, basically, this story is nearing its end and after it finishes, I'll post a story I've been planning for a while and I'm quite excited about. Here is a sneak peek from it, so yeah, hope you enjoy. :)**

"Son of a bitch?!" Max exclaimed, backing away steadily. "Jasper, what-"

"Shut up Max!" Jasper snapped. "And shut your fellow livings up too, because they are REALLY starting to annoy me!" The ghost drifted upwards from the floor, looking past Max at Nurf, Nerris, Harrison and Preston, who were looking worried and confused, muttering amongst themselves.

"Max, what the heck's going on?" Harrison asked nervously, as all he could see was Max talking to thin air. Nerris clutched his hand.

"Just show yourself Jasper." Max muttered. "That'll shut them up."

Jasper rolled his eyes, then as lightning flashed across the abandoned summer home's abandoned laboratory, he became visible to the other campers. Preston gave a scream as he saw the angry ghost hovering three feet in the air.

"Is that-"

"Yep." Max muttered. "Meet Jasper, who appears to have gone a little phsyco."

"Jen was right to tell us not to come over here!" Nerris muttered in wonder. "A real live ghost!"

"Be quiet!" Jasper snarled, floating right up to Nerris. "Or do I have to make you?"

Instinctively, Preston and Harrison stepped in front of her, bumping their shoulders in an annoyed way. They scowled at each other.

"Leave her alone Jasper." Max stepped forwards. "I thought it was me you wanted?"

 **And so there it is. Please give me your thoughts on that preview of 'Jasper's Curse'. All the necessary warnings will come out with the story. And anyhow, on with what you all came for :)**

This was it. The moment they'd all been waiting for.

Max took the Order of the Sparrow staff out of his hoodie pocket and held it aloft as the first bomb exploded.

"TAKE IT TO THEM!" He cried, and they all cheered, before rushing into the compound. Nikki and Max stuck close together, as they were both looking for the same people. Pikeman and Neil.

"Check inside!" Max yelled, pointing to the main building. The two of them hurried over and Nikki kicked the door down.

"Hey guys!" Space Kid called enthusiastically, despite the fact he was tied to a chair

"What the fuck?!" Pikeman gasped.

"Let him have it!" Max said with a grin. Nikki dropped immediately onto all fours and started growling and barking while Max cut Space Kid's ropes with a knife.

"Where are the others?" They both asked at the same time.

"Doing laps of the compound." Space Kid answered, at the same time as Max said: "Invading the compound."

Pikeman was oblivious to the situation going on behind him. He was just focused on the dog/girl who was advancing on him quite threateningly.

"Nice girl..." He tried, the gave a squeal as Nikki attacked and bit into his leg. "Argh! Snake, where are you?!"

"Your fellow gayboy can't help you now!" Max cheered. "We'll come back for him Nikki. Let's go find Neil!"

...

"What the FUCK is happening?!" Neil squeaked as explosions started to sound.

"I don't know, just run away!" Preston shouted, Dolph nodded in agreement, and the three of them turned and sprinted as fast as their legs would carry them.

"Probably some training exercise gone wrong?" Dolph offered, and the other two shrugged, but they did not want to be caught in one of those explosions.

"We'll hide out by the kitchens!" Neil told them. "Then we can- argh!" They rounded the corner and ran smack into someone else, literally, Neil collided foreheads with him, knocking them both to the ground.

"Urgh, that hurt." He muttered, then felt something nudge his leg. A fallen top hat, which could only mean...

"Harrison!" Preston exclaimed.

"Yep." Harrison winced. "Thanks a lot Neil."

"Wait, what the hell are you doing here?!" Neil asked.

"What do you think. Breaking you lot out!"

Neil gasped, and his face stretched into a smile. "You mean, you came? All of you? Max as well?"

"Who do you think was leading us?"

"Oh, yeah. Right."

"Where's the others?" Harrison stood up. "Where's Nerris?"

"Back in our room, well, prison cell." Preston told him. "She hurt her leg."

"Lead the way."

Preston led the way as the four of them ran back to the place the five of them had slept in. Nerris was sat up, trying to walk out to see what was happening. Her mouth dropped open when she saw Harrison in the doorway.

"Harrison?"

"Yep, we all came!" Harrison grinned, trying not to sound too macho. Just play it cool...

"They're getting us out of here!" Neil exclaimed, and came to help Nerris off the bed. Harrison let her lean on his shoulder and supported her as she hopped out."

"Where to now?" Dolph asked.

"Well, back to the others, I presume." Harrison gave a shrug. "They'll be around. And they'll probably have found Space Kid."

The five hurried out of the building, and were instantly met by a hail of fire.

"Argh!" Preston gave his girly scream as the flames were cut short to reveal Ered and Nurf. Neil felt a sudden prick in his foot and looked down to see that Nurf had chucked a knife at him, which was embedded in his tough boot.

"I like these shoes all of a sudden!" He exclaimed, pulling it out.

"Sorry guys, didn't recognise you." Ered said.

"Yeah, 'cos honestly, you all look really weird dressed like that." Nurf said with a small grin.

"Thanks a bunch." Nerris said with a frown.

"Space Kid is totally unrecognisable!" Dolph told them with a sly smile.

"Not too recognisable yourself, what with the eyepatch, only that you're probably the shortest person ever to wear the Woodscout shirt." Ered grinned. Dolph rolled his eyes, well eye, because one of them was currently hidden, plus still swollen shut.

"Let's just get out of here." He muttered.

"We said we'd meet the others back at the plane." Nurf looked towards the Woodscouts, milling about, trying to put out fires and keep Jeremy Fartz WELL AWAY from an open flame. "But we have to get past these lot first."

Neil looked over to the firey scene and gasped.

"I think we need to go over there. Now!"

...

Max, Nikki and Space Kid weren't as confident as the others. They were in the entire mess of fire and Woodscouts and Max was running low on knives. Nikki didn't know who to attack. Space Kid was plain scared.

"We're screwed!" Nikki panicked.

"Not quite yet." Max reassured her, looking at the advancing Woodscouts. The fire burned behind them, giving Max an idea, even if it would be painful, he had to do it.

"I'm sorry David." He muttered, then raised the staff, plunging it deep into the flames. Space Kid gave a yelp as the staff caught fire and Max held it high above his head.

"Die you kidnapping bastards!" He yelled, and threw the staff. The Woodscouts ran for their lives.

"Good thinking!" Nikki exclaimed. "But now what?"

"Now what indeed." They all knew that voice and turned with regret to see Snake, chewing on his usual candy cane. He grinned.

"Oh piss off, Billy." Max put special emphasis on the name he knew Snake hated. Snake growled and Max saw Pikeman and Petrol heading their way. He groaned in aggravation. Why did everything have to be so COMPLICATED!

Snake removed the candy cane from his mouth and advanced.

"Oh no!" Space Kid hid behind Max. There were so many Woodscouts, they were hopelessly outnumbered, they were fucked...

"Max!"

No, not possible, how...

Max turned and saw them, all of them, running towards him, the weapons, the bravery. And at the head...

"Neil!" Max yelled, overjoyed. He forgot about the battle, about the Woodscouts, about Space Kid using him as a human shield. He ran and, before Neil had time to wonder what the hell was going on, Max grabbed him and hugged him.

"God, I was so bloody worried!" Max cried to Neil's shocked face. "And you're OK now, argh, Neil, don't you scare me like that again!"

"OK!" Neil gasped, a little bewildered. "Max I, I really had no idea you cared this much."

"You're my best friend Neil, of course I do!" Max suddenly realised that all eyes were on him, and stepped back, embarrassed. "Is everyone here?"

"Yep!" Preston cheered joyfully. "Camp Campbell united, against the world!" He had tied some material around his hand and held a piece of broken glass as a weapon. All of the captives had similar weaponry, a quick decision that came from Dolph tying his makeshift eyepatch around his hand and punching out a window. And they were all angry about the days they had spent imprisoned here. They were prepared to use them.

"Get in a circle formation!" Max commanded. "Ered, get your flame thrower ready, Nurf, you're our strongest man, Nikki- jesus what happened to your face!"

Max had not yet seen Dolph's injuries.

"It's fine." Dolph said quietly, holding his glass steady. "We're gonna kick Woodscout ass!"

"Erm, yeah." Max regained his stride. "Ready everyone?"

"Oh fuck yeah!" Nikki cried. "You suited bastards will learn what happens when you mess with our camp!"

Muack joined them from somewhere and hissed, balancing on her tail with her feet in the air.

"Maxwell!" Pikeman exclaimed, scowling.

"Yeah, no one messes with my friends and gets away with it!" Max said with a grin. He rummaged in his pocket and brought out his own pocket knife.

"Let them have IIIIITTTTTTTTTTT!" Space Kid cried.

"Take them ALLLLL!" Pikeman commanded, limping slightly.

And so it began.

Of course, it wasn't a bloody battle filled with slaughter. Mainly just scrapping and punching each other. Nerris was forced to sit out of it due to her leg, and Harrison supported her.

"Advancing!" Nerris cried as she saw a couple of Woodscouts coming towards them. "And I'm unarmed, goddamn it!"

"Not quite." Harrison gave her a sly smile. "That reminds me." He reached into his hat and withdrew the dice he'd found in the pantry. Nerris gasped.

"I found them." He said quietly. "I know we haven't always got on, but you're a good person Nerris."

"Thanks. You too." She smiled at him, then sat up, and held her weapons aloft.

"Shame to lose these, but there will be others!" She threw the dice one by one, each one hitting their target and knocking the enemy back.

"Oh yeah! Nerris the cute, mage and warrior is back in business!"

Harrison rolled his eyes, but smiled.

But the battle was not going well for Camp Campbell. There was only ten of them, eleven if you counted Muack, and they were outnumbered at least five to one.

"What the hell do we do?!" Preston squeaked as they got into a circle, back to back, trying to hold off the enemy.

"Keep fighting?" Ered wondered.

"What else can we do?"

"Nothing, that's what."

Max looked at his fellow campers. His friends. His enemies. The people he hated, yet loved to be around.

He looked out at Pikeman, his smug smile, he thought he had won.

Well, maybe he had.

Max held up his hands. The others didn't deserve to that again; broken legs, bruised faces, constant fear and worry.

But maybe someone else did.

"Stop!" He cried, and the battle fell to a halt. Max stepped forwards, right up to Pikeman.

"Giving in?" Pikeman asked smugly.

"Yes." Max replied. Deadly silence.

"What?" Pikeman was shocked, he'd never expected this to come from Max, of all people.

"I will broke you a deal." Max looked up at him. "My friends go free. They go back to camp. You never bother them again." Pikeman frowned.

"Max..." Nikki gasped.

"In exchange for me. I know you hate my guts. So I will come quietly. I will join your fascist, militant summer camp, even come back for future summers. As long as you leave them alone."

"Max, no!" Neil tried to move forward, but the Woodscouts blocked his path. Nikki and Preston held onto his arms.

Pikeman smiled.

"It seems we have a deal." He extended his arm towards Max to shake. Max sighed, gave his previous fellow campers, one last look of goodbye.

Then shook Pikeman's hand.

"No!" Neil yelled.

"Just go Neil." Max waved a hand in front of his face. "Set David on fire for me."

"Max,"

"GO!" Max snapped, and Neil was so shocked by this turn of events he let Preston and Nikki drag him away.

Max didn't watch them go. His pride was broken and he only stared at the ground. Slowly, the Woodscouts around him laughed, Pikeman the loudest of all.

"It seems, after so long, we have you at last! Someone get me a spare shirt. We're going to make a Woodscout out of this one!"


	14. It all comes down to football (soccer?)

The flight in the seaplane seemed to last a few minutes, yet still, many hours. No one spoke. Ered piloted carefully over the lake until they reached the camp again. Eight kids and a platypus sat gloomily in the cabin, squashed due to the lack of room. Nurf and Dolph stared gloomily at the floor. Preston tapped repeatedly on his lap with his fingers. Space Kid was biting his lip slightly. Muack was asleep. Nerris was in pain from her leg again and Harrison was watching her closely. Nikki was doing the same for Neil, who was fiddling with the clumsily placed bandages that Preston had placed around his hand. Like Max had been when Neil was taken, Neil hadn't spoken a word.

"We're landing." Ered muttered, as dawn broke overheard. They were early, Gwen would still be there and David wouldn't be back until that afternoon. Max had told them all the situation. They were going to miss Gwen.

"There she is." Harrison said, as the eight of them hurried over to the figure leaning against the mess hall.

"Gwen!" Nikki called, and Gwen jumped to see eight kids running towards her. She wasn't dressed in her business suit and heels though, but her councillor shirt, shorts and boots.

"Kids!" Gwen called as they arrived. "Oh my... you're back." She smiled so widely, and hugged Space Kid. She winced at the sight of Nerris's leg, Neil's hand and Dolph's face.

"What the HELL did that asshole Pikeman do to you?!" She demanded.

"We were running laps and I fell over." Nerris told her.

"I told him to fuck himself and he hit me." Dolph muttered.

Neil said nothing.

"Neil hit a wall after he tried to starve us." Preston sighed. Gwen's expression turned from worried to furious.

"I'll fucking kill him." She growled. "Hitting, starving kids..." She suddenly frowned as she realised.

"Wait. Where's Max?"

No one answered.

"They took him." Came a voice.

The kids all looked towards the back of the crowd. Neil looked up from the ground and towards Gwen.

"They what?"

"They took Max. He gave himself up so we could get away."

"He sacrificed himself." Nerris muttered.

"He was brave."

"A hero."

"Selfless."

"Did something for someone else."

Gwen's mouth dropped open.

"Max, no, he wouldn't..."

"He did."

Gwen leant against the mess hall wall and tried to think what to do.

"Dolph, Preston, Nerris, Neil, Space Kid, you guys go get changed, because I'm burning those shirts. Nikki, Ered, Nurf, Harrison, I need you to-"

A Taxi drew up in the driveway. They all spun around.

"David!" Nikki exclaimed. David stepped out of the Taxi and handed the driver twenty dollars.

"Keep the change pal." As the Taxi drove away, David strode up to Gwen, who looked worried.

"What's this about you leaving again Gwen?" He demanded.

"David, I, erm." Gwen squirmed.

"I told you that you were free for other careers, but leaving the kids unattended? Is this what sending me to Toronto was about? And..." He gasped. "You should be on your way there, you're not even changed or anything..." David, for the first time, looked down at the kids.

"What the gosh darn heck happened here?! What are those shirts, fancy dress? Oh dear, Dolph is that real?! And..." His eyes widened. "Where's Max?"

He looked behind him as if he was going to see the ten year old preparing to set his underwear on fire again.

Gwen gave a sad sigh.

"I'm not going to take the job, David."

"What?!" Everyone exclaimed.

"What?" David repeated.

"I'm not taking the job." A small smile broke Gwen's face. "I was going to, I'd dialled the number for the Taxi. But then I realised, is that what I really want? No these past few days I have been stressed and worried beyond belief, but I've found that I really do care about these kids and... I don't want to leave them behind. And besides, how would you manage this lot without me?"

David grinned.

"But what has been happening? And where's Max?"

Neil stepped forward, took a breath, and told him. Told him everything. How they'd been snatched out of their beds. How they'd contacted the Flower Scouts. How Dolph had left the room for five minutes and returned with a face injury. How they had sent messages back and fourth with the others. How Pikeman had found out, and punished them. How Nerris sprained her ankle and Pikeman refused to feed them. How Preston needed a few weeks in first aid camp. How Space Kid had found Max and Nikki and been captured. How the others had saved them. And lastly, how Max had saved them all.

"So he's stuck being a Woodscout until he's eighteen. And we got away."

David's mouth had dropped open and his smile had disappeared. Neil quickly rubbed his eye, wiping away the tears there.

David shut his mouth and his brow furrowed. He seemed to consider. Then he looked down at the kids.

"Stay here guys. Dolph, Nerris, Preston, Neil, Space Kid, change your clothes and the rest of you, get something for them to eat. I'll be back in an hour or so."

"Wait, where are you going?" Gwen asked. David didn't answer, but simply got into the camp mobile and put the pedal to the metal. The rest of them were left in a cloud of dust.

"What's gotten into him?" Nurf wondered.

...

Max's life had never felt so shitty. His blue hoodie had been taken, along with his yellow shirt. He hated this uniform, these boots, too smart, too ugly, too... militant. He was beginning to feel like Dolph. Sooner or later, he'd snap and start spouting German. Pikeman stood in front of him, lecturing him on rules, obedience and punishment. Max stared at the floor. He just wanted this summer to be over. He just wanted his life to be over. He was glad Neil was safe and happy, and Nikki and the others as well.

But if he could do it again, would he make the same choice?

"Are you listening to me?!" Pikeman demanded.

Max gave a gloomy nod. Pikeman continued rambling.

Suddenly, the door to the room was thrown open.

"I'm sorry sir, I couldn't-"

"You shut up!"

Max turned around to see two people he knew very well. One was Snake.

The other was David.

"David?" Max exclaimed. "What are you doing here? Your flight wasn't supposed to be back until this afternoon."

"And this is private property!" Pikeman snarled. David ignored both of them and strode right up to Pikeman.

"You're going to let Max go back to Campbell with me." David said in a low and angry voice. Pikeman grinned.

"Ha, you think it's going to be that easy. We already have-"

David hit him. Pikeman was so shocked that he did nothing to resist when David's punch in the face landed him in the wall.

"Argh, Snake, do something!" He cried, rubbing his head and clutching his eye.

"Yes." David turned to the other Woodscout. "You are going to get all the paperwork on Max, Neil, Space Kid, erm, Neil Armstrong, Dolph, Nerris and Preston and you are going to give it to me. NOW!"

Snake hurried off.

"Don't you dare mess with my campers ever again or you will regret it!" David snapped. Pikeman gave a frightened nod. Snake reappeared with six filed, which David took.

"Come on Max." David held out his hand. Max took one look back at Pikeman, and looked at a table in the corner. He kicked the table so it fell onto Pikeman's leg. he howled in pain.

"You little bastard!"

Max followed David out of the room.

"No!" Pikeman growled, turning around and smacking the wall with his fist in anger. "OW! SHIT!"

...

Max hadn't spoken, and neither had David, until they reached David's car outside the compound. Max took one look back, then spat on the ground.

"I'm never going back." He muttered.

"Too true." David told him. "Gwen didn't take the job, by the way."

Max nodded and David sighed.

"Max, I know you don't like me, but... when I heard you were here... I just couldn't..."

Max took one step forward and hugged David. Hard.

"Thank you." He whispered. "Thank you so much!"

David was surprised, but hugged Max back.

...

"Nikki, I'm going in for the attack!"

"Roger that captain!"

Max watched Harrison expertly dribble the ball towards Nurf, who was in their goal.

"Oh no you don't!" He muttered, then went to tackle the magician. Nikki ran up behind and 'accidentally' tipped Harrison's hat over his eyes while Max took the ball.

"Mine now bitches!" He cried happily.

"Foul!" Harrison exclaimed. "Ref?!"

Muack quaked from under her oversized referee hat.

"Ha, in your face!" Max cheered, catching up with Neil.

"Ready to score this goal." Neil asked with a grin.

"As ready as-"

"Half blind man coming through!" Dolph yelled, sliding past Max and snatching the ball away.

"Not fair!" Nikki cried as Dolph scored against Nurf as Harrison, Nerris, Preston and Ered cheered.

"Oh game ON!" Max cried. "Our ball now suckers!"

David and Gwen watched the game happily from the sidelines. The kid's injuries were healing and camp was returning to normal, except, Max seemed to appreciate his situation a lot more, and his fellow campers. He hadn't made one single mean remark since he arrived back.

"This summer's going great." David said with a smile. "I can't wait for tomorrow's activities!"

"Swimming in the lake? No thanks."

"Oh come on Gwen. How bad could it be."

"I'm starting to regret my decision to stay here."

David laughed.

"You don't mean that!"

"Of course I don't!"

"VICTORY!" Max cried as he scored a goal. "We won!"

"Best out of three?" Ered offered with a joking smile.

"Heck no!" Neil replied.

"Hold on, we need a picture!" David called, bringing out his phone. "Everyone get in."

The two teams crowded together happily as Gwen brought herself into the frame and David stuck his head around for a selfie type function.

"Everyone say the camp motto!"

Everyone shouted the motto of Camp Campbell, even Max.

 **So that's it, last chapter. It's bee fun and I will do other fics, so you can keep a lookout for those if you wish :)**

 **Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing and favouring and following. I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **See you later?**

 **Bye for now**

 **Sincerely Me. ;)**


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